The Beauty in Imperfection
by joyster
Summary: A collection of One-Shots celebrating the connection and what would've been a beautiful (and dorky) relationship between not only a Fire Lord and a Water Peasant, but a boy and a girl who both had to grow up too fast for Zutara Month 2015. Day 20: Honeymoon - Phase. Just like the moon, life goes through phases. Relationships do too...in theory at least.
1. Day 1 - Secret Lovers

**A/N Hi, so if you're reading this THANK YOU! This will be the first bit of fanfiction that I've ever published (not to say that there aren't dozens of unfinished projects on my computer), so I'm a bit nervous. When I found out Zutara month was coming up I decided it was a good opportunity to finally make myself put something up. So I hope you enjoy it, constructive criticism and help would be appreciated. I hope you enjoy x**

 ***Update 1 Week Later* I'm really grateful that there are people out there reading these little stories of mine. Try to bear with me and keep in mind that these are often written on the day they're to be uploaded because, evidently, I'm not the most organised person on this planet. Despite loving getting reviews I am also super guilty of reading stories without saying anything, even if I do really enjoy it. I'm trying to change that habit but now I am rambling.**

 **If you're only joining this little endeavour now, welcome and I wish you happy reading :) x**

 ***Update April 2017* I'm still here! I haven't given up on this. I have a number of ideas for longer stories but I feel like I should try and do these one-shots first. I had plans mapped out for most of the prompts back when it actually was Zutara Month 2015 but not all of them. So if there is anything you'd like to see leave a review or send me a message and I'll see if I can make it fit. I basically hit a wall at day 15: caught (it is about half written but I feel a bit stuck) so after 14 it won't be in order. I'd really appreciate any feedback you may have.** **I will try my best to update regularly. Thanks again for reading x**

* * *

A Little Truth in Every Rumour

"Hey Zuko"

She swishes into his office without announcement. Since she took up residence in the Caldera as an Ambassador 6 months prior he's become almost accustomed to her rocking up unexpectedly. It still makes him jump but he hasn't accidentally spilt his ink across the scroll he was reading for months now! She pushes some of the piles of paperwork aside and perches on the far corner of his desk, crossing her legs and looking far too attractive for her own good. Her back arches as she piles thick brown curls on top of her head, securing it with pins and babbling about the heat and how he could stand to be wearing such thick robes when it's so humid. He leans back in his chair and softly chuckles at her.

" _She's certainly not in thick robes"_ He thinks to himself.

Since the end of the war over 2 years earlier Katara has become something of a fashion icon to the world. While Toph wasn't a fan of wearing anything that couldn't take a thick coating of dirt and movement without falling apart and Suki would generally make public appearances in uniform, Katara was always well presented in generally practical but nice looking clothes. About a year and a half ago (and after a few months of imitations of what she'd wear when on tours of the world being sold and eagerly purchased) she was approached (well, contacted) with offers from a bunch of Fire Nation designers to wear their clothes. She accepted after corresponding with Ty Lee and Zuko discussing the benefits for the Fire Nation economy. To be honest, he'd completely underestimated just how helpful the industry would be in the rebuilding of his nation. With so many people out of work and hundreds of now disused factories and storage bunkers it created masses of new opportunities.  
Currently, Katara was in a, rather risqué by classic standards, outfit with a large triangle cut out of the back of a loose blue silk top, exposing most of her smooth back, and billowing pants in a darker blue. At one point a few weeks back, when she first wore the top, she'd tried to explain the wrappings she wore with the particular garment to him but he couldn't get his head around it. Looking at her made him feel obscenely over-dressed despite the fact he'd already shed three of the layers of his traditional Fire Lord garb.

"Zuko?" He shakes his head and realises he'd completely zoned out staring at her (more specifically tracing the curve of her back with his eyes). She raises an eyebrow at him and he feels himself redden a little.

"Sorry… what did you say Katara?"

She rolls her eyes but laughs, turning herself to face him more. "I went to my residence today and it looks like it's almost ready."

Zuko scratches the back of his neck and says it's great. Honestly it has taken three times the time it ought to've for the Water Tribe Embassy to be prepared for residency; the reasoning behind this being entirely selfish on the Fire Lord's part. He'd missed his friends and enjoyed having company (particularly hers) to break up the constant work of his day-to-day.  
Since Mai left well over a year ago he's felt incredibly lonely. Now that he has a guest he didn't want her to go, even if she was only going a 5 minute Palanquin ride away.

"So anyway, as I'm on my way in I overhear some of the workmen gossiping! I don't care what Sokka says it isn't 'manly discussions of others' personal matters', it's gossiping…" Zuko smiles and she continues, articulating her story with animated gesticulations. "Apparently, they think we're secret lovers! How crazy, right?"

They make eye contact. While Katara's face looks like she finds it hilarious there is a twinkle that betrays her. And Zuko knows he's never been very good at concealing how he feels.

"It's nuts." He replies, forcing a laugh.

"Yeah… so once I get in they shut up and give me a tour and everything and it's all beautiful, thank you so much for it by the way I don't know where you found such a perfect colour paint…" She realises she's rambling and forces herself back on track. "I decided to go to the market afterwards and get some fresh mangoes and while I'm there I hear, would you believe it, the same bit of gossip from a pair of older aristocratic women at a teashop. I'm not proud but I sort of hid and listened to what they were saying. I can't believe it Zuko! They all think we're in the middle of a sordid love affair!"

Zuko burns up and he can't even gather the strength to look at her. He's never told her that he has feelings for her but she surely knows and, evidentially, doesn't feel the same. Simultaneously, Katara is covering her face in embarrassment and irritation.

"You want to know the worst part?"

"There is something worse that people thinking we're together?" He can't help, what he meant to be in jest, sounding like a sulk. She blinks then continues.

"They all think it's because I get off on power. ' _She clearly likes the ruling the world type_ ', ' _I suppose philanthropy didn't pay well enough_ '…" She attempts to imitate them but it sort of fails with her stroppy mood clear. "They all think because I dated Aang for a while back when the war ended that I only like you for your position as Fire Lord…. I mean, like, if I liked you like that…"

"Yeah… Look Katara, don't listen to them. You're the kindest and most generous person I've ever met, well perhaps after my mother." She smiles softly, leaning over to rest her fingertips on the back of his hand to comfort him and say thank you. "Anyone that has ever met you would know you're not power hungry. Hell you're probably stronger and more powerful than me anyway."

She genuinely laughs giving Zuko the courage to look at her again. As dusk is approaching, the dimming light illuminates her in a soft, warm glow. He felt like he was witnessing a part of her very soul.

After they faced her mother's killer together he'd felt like he knew her… really knew her. Beyond the fronts she puts up and her worries that she concealed from the others. She trusts completely and at this point in their friendship they could communicated without words. Here she was, despite usually being very protected and controlled, completely at ease.

"You'd better believe it, Jerkbender." She replies, punctuating with a punch on the arm as she got up.

"What was that for?" He asked with mock hurt.

"It's how I show affection." She winks and he laughs. "But seriously Zuko it really bugs me that your people think I'm so shallow. I like you because of _this_ " she gestured manically at all of him as he snickered; "you're so good and honourable and care so much. I like you because you help me, understand me or at least try to without putting me in a box… you're just this big considerate goof. I like you because with me you're Zuko first, Fire Lord second. "

She kept going. He could tell it was word vomit by the way her blue eyes widened with every word she said, indicated she was about three steps behind her mouth and trying desperately to regain control of what she was saying. He slowly rose, as to not startle her; gradually moving closer until she's right in front of him looking up into his eyes.

Honestly, he isn't sure who kisses who first. All he knows is that she's there kissing him with just as much fervour, one of her hands tugging his hair out of its topknot (he faintly hears his crown fall to the floor) and the other pressing right over his lightening scar. He pulls her tightly to him, hands wrapped around her small feminine waist, avoiding the bare skin of her back out of respect.

All too quickly it's over and they're staring at each other, both panting and trying to catch their breath.

There is a confused, awkward (particularly on Zuko's part) discussion about what just happened, an assertion that just because one part of the rumour is being realised, doesn't mean the rest would.

They agree that, despite it being kind of crazy, they'd both like to see where _they_ 'd go.

They also agree to keep it secret.

"The world isn't ready" she says, "I still get spat at sometimes when I help people in the streets or at hospitals…"

"Besides," he says, pulling her closer, "It's none of their business."

She kisses him again. He holds her tightly and whispers about putting his 'Ninja stealth skills' to good use, you know… sneaking. She giggles and lightly hits him, blushing. He blushes even more and insists he just meant sneaking to kiss and hug her; he would never sneak into her room to do anything dishonourable! Well maybe not never. But he wouldn't... unless she was interested then maybe…

She kisses him on the cheek, straightening her top. "Sit down before you hurt yourself. Goodnight Zuko," She laughs and as swiftly as she arrived she was gone - probably to the gardens to get some bending in before turning in for the night.

* * *

He's informed the next day that her apartment at the Embassy is ready for her now.

She moves in two weeks later...

She "accidentally" leaves some of her things in the guest quarters of the palace and has to visit frequently to collect them.

The staff think she's forgetful.

The Fire Lord thinks she's wonderful.


	2. Day 2 - Red String

**A/N The couple of reviews I received really made my morning. For this prompt I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Originally, I was going to reference the Chinese Legend that was likely the actual inspiration behind it. Instead I decided to do something different and take it in a more literal sense so I wouldn't misrepresent another culture. I hope you enjoy Day 2, please let me know what you think and thank you for reading x**

* * *

Saving Split Seams

When Sokka arrived home from a trip into the Ember Island Village Market holding the crotch of his only pair of red pants and Suki, clearly irritated, by his side, Katara was almost reluctant to ask what happened.

All Suki said was that those gigglers were lucky she didn't have her fan with her at the time and so was Sokka.

Katara knew it would be unwise to push the subject.

It was only that afternoon when the garment showed up, strewn unceremoniously over her pillow, that Katara decided she was determined for answers.

"Sokka what is this?"

"Those are my pants."

"So why were they on MY bed?" The fabric balls in her clenching fist.

"Because, there is a hole in them," He says it like it's obvious and no big deal and goes back to lounging, tracing his fingers across his boomerang.

"I don't see how a split seam made them magically transport themselves into my room." He's either totally oblivious or ignoring her sharpening tone and unnaturally widened eyes.

"It didn't. I threw them in there."

"Why does it have to be my responsibility to fix your pants? I'm your sister."

"Well I asked Suki and she started yelling at me about being her a warrior…"

"I'm a warrior too Sokka."

"Yes, you're formidable with a needle and thread."

Katara scowls at him and Sokka realises he's lucky his sister isn't a firebender otherwise his garment would be up in flames by now.

"Calm down Katara, I was kidding."

It's too late, she's stormed out of the room. Dinner, she decides, will be vegetarian as a punishment. Serves Sokka right for being a lazy chauvinist.

While beginning preparations for a vegetable and rice stir fry Suki comes in, sees the trousers on the table and asks a flat "Oh, he gave them to you too?" rolling her eyes. She then reveals that the stitches gave way while he was showing off his deep lunges to a gaggle of very giggly local girls.

Katara decides they're going vegetarian for the rest of the week. He clearly has a lesson to learn.

The girls quietly discuss the injustice of it all as they slice vegetables.

"You know if I wasn't here I doubt they'd eat at all. They wouldn't cook anything!"

"They certainly wouldn't do laundry…"

"Can you imagine how bad they'd smell?"

They laugh and Katara gets a wok from the cupboard.

"I'll have you know, my Uncle taught me to cook some things." Katara almost drops the pan in surprise.

There's Zuko, the ever stealthy. He tries to sound confident but his voice falters a little.

"Is that so?" Katara smirks at him

"Well he wanted to make sure I could survive if we were…separated."

"Is your cooking better than your tea making?" She quips; Suki hides a snicker as she finishes slicing. Zuko blushes and reaches for the wok, lighting the stove with his fire bending.

"It isn't as good as yours… or uncles. But it's enough to live off."

"That's probably more than Sokka could say," Suki interjects as the benders start to cook the stir fry. "He'd no doubt poison himself." She laughed to herself, "He'd end up asking the 'Giant Friendly Mushroom' to join him for his meal. Man, I'm so glad you told me that story". Katara laughed and told a confused looking Zuko she'd explain it later. The Kyoshi warrior left them to finish up, "I need to ignore Sokka from a closer proximity so he'll apologise. It looks like dinner might be punishment enough but just in case I'll go hide his jerky stash." She smiles wickedly at her friends then sashayed out.

"What did Sokka do this time?" Zuko inquires quirking an eyebrow as Katara seasons the meal.

"He tore his pants in town and expected Suki then myself to mend them for him."

The flames under the wok were reflecting in her blue eyes. Zuko looks sympathetically at her, toying with the idea of putting a comforting hand on her shoulder and then awkwardly aborting that mission instead stating simply,

"He's an idiot."

They finish cooking in comfortable silence.

* * *

After dinner, of which enjoyed to the soundtrack of Sokka's grumbling about the lack of animal products, Zuko and Katara did the dishes and then resigned to the steps outside overlooking where Aang was washing Appa in the ocean not too far away and Toph was practising her sand sculpting now that the medium was no longer blindingly hot under her feet. Sokka and Suki were off somewhere in the house "making up". The sun was beginning to set, creating long shadows and a golden wash across the skies.

"So what are you going to do about Sokka's pants? Not that it's your responsibility, because it isn't. I'm only asking because you still have them…"

A slight smile turns the corners of her mouth as she watches him grow red and flustered. _"Funny to think I was scared of him once… now we all know his true identity as a total dork"_ she thinks to herself before replying.

"I'm not sure yet"

"Well in that case… maybe I can do it."

Her jaw drops, "you SEW?"

He's blushing hard now, praying to the Fire Gods that it's masked by the sunset…

It's not.

"Not very well, but maybe you could teach me…"

"You're going to be Fire Lord, why would you need to sew?"

"You're an amazing warrior why do you need to sew? When you're injured you tend the wound, when clothing tears you fix the hole. We win this war and we have to do that for the whole world. Uncle tried to teach me to sew while we were refugees in the Earth Kingdom but I said it was beneath me after I ran out of patience threading the needle. If I become Fire Lord I want to be able to recognise the skill involved in the everyday tasks my servants do that I took for granted… I want to learn humility… patience…"

"That's sweet Zuko. I think you'll make a great Fire Lord." He looks at her, the blush is still there but he's smiling now. "I can't turn down an offer like that. Especially when it benefits me,"

With that they go inside. She gets her old sewing things and realises she only has white thread which would be quite obvious. Zuko brightens then leads her to an old supply closet and a spool of red string.

They settle in the sitting room and as she patiently guides him through the process, encouraging him, he tells her about how he first found out about the cupboard as a child when Azula tore a sleeve off his favourite shirt, before she'd become actually mean and take over the world-y. His mother had sewn it back on for him in the very room they are in.

He recalls the cherry blossom print on the nightgown that she put on him while she fixed his top and the way it smelt like vanilla and nutmeg.

"I was really young then. I remember saying to her that she could fix anything with that needle and thread… I only hope that I was right… maybe bits of unenjoyable, painstaking work with the right tools could fix all of the problems in the world."

Katara smiles at him. When he shows her his finished product she tells him it's great. They stay up and talk a bit longer, Aang and Toph have long since gone to bed. They finally turn in rather late after hours exchanging stories about their mothers and growing up. Once the drowsy fire bender goes to bed Katara neatens Zuko's attempt a bit but is generally quite impressed with his effort, especially since it's practically his first time. She thinks about the furrow of his brow when he was concentrating and the way his eyes would light up when he made a nice stitch or spoke of his mother and the deeper values of his people. She envelopes herself in the expensive sheets and before falling asleep, in a hazy state, she thinks about how great a team they are. He's come so far and grown so much. Alone he can stitch up the rift in the world, end the war. Still it really helps that he has her (and their friends too) to neaten the edges, smooth out the rough patches and encourage him to keep trying.


	3. Day 3 - Drunk

**A/N(17/7/16 Update): So it was brought to my attention (by the amazingly kind xxZutaraFanxx) that for some reason The chapter for day 4 'Lost' was repeated in place of Chapter 3 aswell. Honestly not sure how that happened but here is the original chapter 3 and Zutura in all their drunken glory!  
And to xxZutaraFanxx, Your review has absolutely made my day and I'm so grateful that my little drabbles can bring someone some joy :) I hope you have a wonderful day! **

* * *

**Dancing in the Moonlight**

Of all the people in the world, Katara had never taken Zuko for a lively drunk. She had always imagined him to be even more sombre than his usual self, becoming philosophical and excluding himself from festivities.

Oh how wrong she was.

She owed Toph a bag of gold pieces.

The young Fire Lord takes more after his Uncle than anticipated.

* * *

Sokka and Suki had finally gotten engaged and all of Kyoshi Island was celebrating. Most of the original Southern Water tribe (its half –former- Northerners now) made the journey to join the festivities, bringing with them the unfreezing spirits that were becoming a trade hit and burnt off your nose hairs if you sniff it from too close (Sokka learnt that the hard way).

Katara, Zuko and Ty Lee all travelled together from the Fire Nation to join the festivities. After six months of being a Kyoshi warrior Ty Lee had grown weary of once more being a part of a matching set. When she was mistaken for fellow warrior, Akina, 4 times by 4 different people in one day she finally announced to Suki her resignation. When she returned to her homeland Zuko suggested she teach in the Fire Nation Academy for girls and gave her a position in a committee dedicated to methods to encourage girls to be educated.

Zuko had been solidly booked in meetings for the week ahead of their trip (which he'd have to use as an opportunity to have political talks with the Kyoshi Elders). He would only have a few days on the Island; the day after the party he had a meeting with the chief. Their group wouldn't be returning to the Fire Nation together, Katara had ambassadorial duties in the Earth Kingdom and would be travelling with Toph and Iroh to the capital (earning a bit of pocket money no doubt working casually at The Jasmine Dragon). All of this meant that the three or four days they had on the Island were the only opportunities the secret couple had to spend together.

As a Southern Water Tribe member, Katara took pride in her high alcohol tolerance (a trait that had oddly skipped her brother). Her Gran Gran made sure that she was enjoying herself, stocking her plate with rich foods and passing her a new drink every time she finished hers.

"We know how to have a good time. You aren't eating enough, you're too skinny." Kanna stated simply.

Katara didn't feel like telling her Grandmother that she'd actually gained 5 kilos since she moved to the Fire Nation 8 months before. She merely smiled and sipped at the fruity Earth Kingdom white wine she had and glanced around, drinking in the atmosphere.

The entire village had taken part in organising and setting it up. Tables were placed around the skirt of the central square. The multicultural food was set across a table in front of town hall. All the buildings and even the past Avatar's statue were strung with lanterns and streamers. A band played on a raised podium, a nice view of the bay and the elephant koi dancing behind them, with the large space in the centre of the village left clear for dancing.

She missed her boyfriend. She just couldn't tell anyone.

Anyone but Toph - who, quite literally, dragged her aside and demanded to know if they'd _"Stopped being thick, stubborn, overgrown babies and finally hooked up"_ when they stepped off the boat after the 8 day journey. Saving herself the effort of denying it to a human lie detector she answered in the affirmative but informed Toph it was strictly secret.

Katara would later find out, while travelling to Ba Sing Se, that Toph had already known. Zuko had very excitedly sent his Uncle a letter telling him when they first admit their feelings two months prior. Then Uncle told Toph.

Complaining to Toph, however, was more frustrating than keeping her feelings to herself. Katara could only take so much of someone declaring their ears bleeding from all the sweetness and requests for an end to her cruel torment.

And Toph said she was the one being childish… what a drama queen.

They were chatting on the side lines of the dancefloor. Sokka was doing some weird wiggling that she supposed could be considered dancing and Suki was swaying gracefully (despite being a bit wobbly on her feet) holding his hand. Aang was completely sober doing some kind of body percussion moves with a few of the Kyoshi Warriors. Ty Lee and Haru were spinning and dipping. Uncle, as he insisted on being referred, and her Grandmother are dancing together with Pakku watching on looking slightly more cranky than usual; his arms crossed as he slumped in his chair. One guy was foaming at the mouth and alternating between writhing on the floor and making spasm like movements (she checked on him two songs ago and he was perfectly ok and Suki explained, blushing, that he was her ex-boyfriend and he always danced… and generally behaved… like that). She couldn't see Zuko anywhere.

"Look just quit your whining, go find him and talk to him. Everyone knows you're friends, it wouldn't even be weird."

"I guess you're righ- " She's cut off by an arm swinging itself around her shoulders and a loud "HELLLLLOOOOOOO" sung into her ear. She's acutely aware of Toph taking the glass out of her hand but not stopping what was left of the interloper's drink spilling down the side of her dress.

"Zuko? What are you doing?" Her voice was halfway in between admonishing and amused.

"The lady called," he half smiles at her, flourish clumsily and regaining his footing, looking a bit more like himself.

"Did I?"

"I heard you say my name from over there," he replies, pointing at the bar where her father and Bato were laughing, waving and downing another arctic shot.

"They were giving me a taste of the Southern Water Tribe official drink."

Katara's eyes opened wide.

"Oh my La, Zuko! How many did you have?"

"I can't remember, I lost count at 6… You know for water it sure does burns."

They all laugh but Katara makes a mental note to yell at her father tomorrow. She couldn't believe he'd gotten the Fire Lord drunk. Zuko, as in -just a glass of red wine with dinner or a fire whiskey after a long day of meetings- Zuko. Now completely sloshed…Thanks to her dad.

The band swells with a tune unfamiliar to her but apparently very known to Zuko.

"Come on Katara, this is a classic Fire Nation Song, come dance with me."

She bends the liquid from her dress, "Dance… You want to dance?

"YES! Come onnn,"

Thanks to her Dad!

She's impressed at how well he walks, still graceful and upright until he stops and starts swaying. He left his empty glass with Toph, admitting that it was just non-burning water in that one and he knew it would be a bad idea to keep drinking. Katara glances over at the younger girl reclining against a table and soon striking up a conversation with Teo and his father sitting there.

Zuko takes Katara's hand and leads her in a neat turn before talking and guiding her through the dance. It's fast but not overly aggressive or complicated. She bends some water from a nearby table's pitcher into his mouth and they smile at each other.

She never realised how fine a dancer he was. Teaching her the moves also gave him a nice excuse to stand a little closer and whisper in her ear; Katara enjoys both of those things.

As the moon climbs higher in the sky (it's full, illuminating and beautiful as if Yue was blessing the happy match) the older people and children leave the festivities to go to bed. Slower, more sultry and quiet, music is played and after a while couples begin to disappear off.

A tipsy Katara not so subtly whisks Zuko away to "see the beach".

Once they're alone at the edge of forest and sand he pushes one of her hair loopies (they'd become drastically lopsided) behind her ear and kissed her. In his mind it was probably very suave but in reality he almost poked her in the eye and kissed her like he was taking a bite of a juicy moon peach. In his defence, she always told him the way he ate a moon peach looked like he was eagerly making out with it. Besides, he hadn't had a drink in the last few hours so he wasn't as bad as he could've been.

"I missed you while you were working," she practically stage whispers, (If she was honest with herself, the high alcohol tolerance skipped her generation completely) and he chuckles. It's a warm sound and makes her feel all fuzzy inside. She tells him this and he gives her a peck, wraps warm arms around her and states that she makes him feel all fuzzy inside.

No one ever said they weren't grossly sweet and sappy when they are drunk.

Well no one knows they're together to be able to tell them…

Except Toph, and she did say that they were vomit inducing and tooth decaying, and that she thought Sparky was a man, not the mushy dork that he actually is… But that's different, right?

They sit down; Zuko leaning against a tree trunk and Katara leaning against him. He's very chatty when he's drunk, midsentence making a rather embarrassing giggle-snort laugh that - had Katara not also been inebriated and very tired – would've warranted at least a decade worth of teasing. He rests an arm curled around her waist.

She says they'll sit there for a while then get up and go to bed.

When she pokes him in the ribs and demands to know what he's doing (by order of the Warrior Sea Princess) he says he's just shutting his eyes for a moment.

She thinks that's a good idea…just for a moment

* * *

When they wake up it's to Toph kicking sand in their faces, smirking at them.

"wake-y, wake-y lovejays," she coos, digging dirty toes into Zuko's ribcage, "everyone is looking for you two."

Katara bolts upright before immediately regretting it, the world goes black and she wobbles as she regains clarity. "Zuko, get up we fell asleep!"

"Five more minutes" he insists, curling into a ball and putting his robe over his face. "Shut the curtains, why is it so bright?"

Rock pushes his head from the ground. Toph squats in front of him, her face inches from his,

"When the Melon Lord says get up, you get up or I'll bend your stupid crown up some place the sun don't shine and Sweetness here will have to find someone new to _accidentally fall asleep on the beach_ with... maybe someone that can sit down without crying."

With that he's getting up, groaning. He clutches his head and looks a mess but at least he's awake.

"If I were the two of you I'd go to bed… actually, maybe wash the sand out of your hair first. Uncle and I covered for you this time but don't expect me to every time you guys want to drunkenly dance and then do the _tango for two_ outdoors."

Zuko grimaces, "I was dancing?"

"Dancing? That's the problem you have with that statement? She's implying that-"

"I know but she always does. I never dance."

"Hate to break it to you Sparky but yesterday, you did."

"You were pretty good at it too" Katara recalled, smiling teasingly

"Mum made me take lessons as a kid before Father took the throne and outlawed it. I was always embarrassed…"

"Well I think it's sweet," She kisses him on the cheek and Toph makes a barfing gesture and tells them to go to bed.

Zuko looks at Katara and smirks.

"She meant separate beds, Shu. Get your mind out of the gutter,"

He smiles, kissing her quickly on the lips and then sneaking off, with less finesse than usual, to the cabin he and his Uncle were staying in.

No, of all the people in the world, Katara had never taken Zuko for a lively drunk. But she was glad that he was.


	4. Day 4 - Lost

Out of Place

Walking into that bar was an assault of sweat, smoke and alcohol on her senses. She instantly regretted wearing white. Her clean skirt practically glowed under the lights and the idea of sitting on any chair made her long for the better quality stain remover she'd overlooked in her last shopping trip.

When Katara met Jet he saved her from a potential mugging. Since, she had developed a massive crush on him. He was tall, lanky but toned, kinda scruffy looking and almost always had a cigarette between his lips. To put it simply, he is unlike any guy she'd ever had feelings for in the past; Her last boyfriend, whom she split with amicably a close to a year ago, had been gentle, soft spoken, long haired and polite. Jet had swept her off her feet with his bravery, suave manner and seductive tone. When he invited her to see his band play she had been taken aback. Katara had never been a part of the crowd he appeared to come from; he was rough around the edges and she was clean cut. She was home schooled and currently studying to be a human rights lawyer; she thought a good night was spent at home with a fantasy novel and a mug of her Gran Gran's Hot Cocoa.

Looking around all she saw were pool tables and sticky looking bar stools. Every other person in the room had at least 4 tattoos and was wearing tartan, leather or studs and there she was with unmarred skin and in cute vintage inspired clothes in entirely light colours.

The stage was at the back of the room. Under neon lights that spelt 'playing tonight' was a green banner, "FREEDOM FIGHTERS", hanging, lopsided, behind a shiny drum kit. She'd gotten there fifteen minutes before their set was due to start, and already a small crowd was building, all drinking, gathered in clique circles probably comparing the diameter of their stretched ear lobes.

She goes to the bar and orders a Cosmo but the bar tender- who is surprisingly polite for a woman with a snake tattoo, fierce eyes and dry tone - suggests that if she doesn't want to stand out any more than she already does she'd order something less "princess-y". So she walks away with a rum and coke and finds an unoccupied table to settle at.

"Hi, are you waiting for someone?" A very pretty, vaguely hopeful young woman, about Katara's age, inquires. She only slightly fits in more than Katara with her plethora of ear piercings and decorative septum not detracting from the fact she was in an overtly cute pink dress.

"No, I'm just here to see the band…"

"Me too!" The girl squeaks, "I was meant to be meeting with my friend but I haven't seen her yet." The girl plops down on the stool beside Katara, sipping a Long Island Ice Tea with a curly straw.

The young woman, who introduces herself as Ty Lee, basically tells Katara her life story in the short time before the band comes out. She's one of 7 daughters, works as a yoga instructor and acupuncturist and is meeting her friend, Mai, here because her friend's on-again off-again ex will be at the show. It isn't quite Ty Lee's scene either and she admits the nose ring is fake and the main reason she's there is because Mai sat through her concert DVD of Britney Spears' Circus 5 times in the last fortnight and only complained twice.

Mai showed up a few minutes later only to admit she'd been here the last hour and was chatting with her tattooist, who was also here on his night off. Mai looked like she fit in at this bar but Katara didn't have too much time to ponder this as the band came out.

First to the stage was a rather androgynous red head, closely followed by a gaunt and dark haired young man. The former goes to a beat up keyboard and the latter to a bass guitar with a neck shaped like a thick arrow. They don't even look at the crowd who are already getting rowdy with anticipation. Jet walks out and he's waving, making finger guns and winking at the audience as he grabbed his guitar and moved towards the microphone. There is an explosion of squeals from a group of girl that Katara had previously tried to block out (Their rather graphic fantasies about band members were being discussed earlier and it had been vulgar and made her feel like she was intruding). Jet blows a kiss at one of them and she chokes on her drink. In the ensuing drama the last member walks silently to the drum kit. His medium length black hair hanging in front of his eyes and he had a vaguely annoyed expression as he watched Jet try to help the girl to calm down.

The set is thoroughly enjoyable despite Katara's lack of experience with their alternative rock style. Jet had made eye contact with her midway through and again as they were finishing up, nodding his head towards the backstage area as an invitation. He had a charming half smile and he'd removed his mismatched jacket. His white shirt was clinging to him and Katara was eager to _talk_ with him. They finish and there was demand for an encore (started by Ty Lee, surprisingly).

* * *

Before her common sense catches up with her Katara is trying to sneak backstage. The encore had been great, the band was all around the back and as far as she could see the bouncers were distracted. She figures walking like she's supposed to be there would help but her legs are quaking. She sneaks up the stage stairs and quick steps toward the curtains in the wings, tripping on a wire and falling. She's caught by both wrists and finds herself looking up into the eyes of the mysterious drummer.

"Are you lost?" he inquires, his eyebrow disappears up under his hair. She regains her footing and he lets go. She says nothing, in shock, so he leaves her for a moment, nimbly avoiding cords to get the sticks he left on the drums. She hadn't really noticed his scar from her seat with his hair always swaying in his face. She couldn't help but feel intrigued and, more than slightly, intimidated. Despite it being the perfect opportunity for her to continue her so far rather unsuccessful sneaking into the back quarters, she couldn't really move. She's glued to her spot and it's only when he taps her arm with a drum stick that she realises she's been standing there motionless.

"Are you lost? Do you speak English?" He asks. On some level she registers that his voice has pleasant gravel to it although his words are laced with a slight impatience. He's changed clothes in the short time since the performance (no doubt he'd been sweating) and smells like Old Spice.

"No and yes," She states flatly. She's using her mum voice (That's what Sokka calls it, the same tone she uses when she tells him to pick up his dirty socks).

"So what are you doing back here?"

"I'm looking for Jet. We're um… friends."

"Not another one of the fangirls… honestly, you seem like a nice girl, don't waste your time." He rolls his eyes.

"It's not like that," she insists.

As he begins walking back stage he faintly indicates for her to follow.

"What about security?" she whispers loudly, "Jet knows but I still don't know if I'm meant to be here…"

The drummer gives her a sidelong look and smirks. "I'll save you from the bouncers" he says simply. She'd be lying if she said she didn't find it attractive.

They're walking down a concrete hallway lined with pictures of bands she has never heard of. There is a quiet echo of voices and people jamming with instruments but not her company's footsteps which were inaudible. They stop at an open door where a very big guy and a very small guy are sitting with note books, calculators and spare CDs.

"Hey Pipsqueak, Duke. You guys seen Jet?"

"No we haven't, try the lounge."

Around another corner and there are the other two band members lounging on beer stained (at least she hoped it was beer) couches; the red head was playing the guitar, the bassist was on a harmonica. They stood at the door for a moment, inching inside; there were a few bottles around and a stack of nachos in the middle of the table.

"Longshot, Smellerbee? LONGSHOT?! SMELLER- - GOD DAMN IT STEPHANIE I KNOW YOU SAW ME,"

It was at this moment Katara learnt that the red head was indeed female and that the guy helping her out actually has a very short temper.

Stephanie stops, and gives the drummer a wry smile. "Sorry, were you wanting to introduce us to your _friend_?" she asks, winking suggestively. He starts to go red.

"No. it's not like that. She's a _friend_ of Jet's. Where is he?" He's pinching the bridge of his nose now and talking out of one side his mouth.

"Sorry, He came in before to get some beer but he didn't say anything…"

Her tour guide of-sorts, pours a pair of drinks at the mini bar and passes one to Katara with another apology. There was an unspoken acceptance of the situation and, while when totally sober he was rather quiet, he became a bit chattier with a drink in his hand.

She finally asked him what his name is.

"Zuko… Mum was a big Grease fan"

She laughed, he smiled. They both blush ever so slightly.

She asked how long he'd been in the band and he told her he was actually just a guest drummer. The rest of the band thought his name was Lee because he met Jet at an awkward part of his adolescence when he was trying to have a cool alter ego.

"You know… like Batman."

"How old were you?"

"Old enough to know better. But really it was my Uncle's fault. He started it."

He told her about his Uncle. She liked the way his eyes lit up when he talked about him. There was so much respect and love despite the good natured slights against the man.

Katara tells him about Jet saving her from muggers and Zuko's lips form a line and his brows knit together. Before he can say anything they hear a voice emanating from a supply closet.

 _"How much did they have on them?... Just 250? That's too bad… And you're certain they weren't cops?... Good. Good. … Yeah my meet up with the lawyer-to-be was today. I asked her to come back here but she's too vanilla to do that…. She just needs some time, If I introduce her to it in the right way and I'm sure she'll side with us. Then we'll be set, things go to plan and she'll be a great asset to our little… operation. Just get back to the club house and we'll catch up late…r."_ Jet's eyes widen as the closet door opens.

"Hi Jet. What was that we just heard?"

"None of your business, Lee"

The door opened wider.

"Too Vanilla, ey?" Her arms are crossed and she's seething.

"Katara I- "

"Nope, I heard enough! I can't believe I trusted you. I bet they were your friends who were going to rob me! You only called it off because I could be 'of use'! My God!"

"I thought you'd be smarter than this! Think Katara! We only take from the wealthy ones; they can afford to lighten their purses"

She threw the rest of the contents of her glass in his face and turned to Zuko.

"Did you know?"

"I had no idea"

She looked critically into his eyes. They're mismatched but golden and steady.

"I believe you."

Jet had run off to wash alcohol out of his eyes. They were alone again and in awkward silence.

"Um…Do you like tea?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Great! Come with me," She followed him back out into the main section of the nightclub, Ty Lee waved as they passed and Mai sort of just gaped at her like a smoky eyed fish as Zuko held her forearm, guiding her through the mass of people.

They went to a quaint yet opulent tea house.

She met his Uncle.

He got her number.

Before she left he grabbed her wrists, the same way he had when she'd fallen into him earlier that night. He gently puts her hands together and pressed a kiss on her knuckles.

"I'm glad I found you."

"So am I"

* * *

 **A/N - And so concludes Day 4. A quick thank you to the sweet people that have favourited and followed as well as the lovely reviewers (They were so kind, I really appreciate it x If you weren't Guests I'd thank you more personally). I think the new name makes this collection seem far more interesting, what do you think?  
Originally I toyed with the idea of Jet hooking up with the girl who choked on her drink but in the show he was an ass because he was a criminal with warped morals so I tried to capture that kind of vibe in this, hope it worked. This one is a bit different to the other One-Shots so far, let me know if you like the AUs and I might plan a few more for the prompts I'm not sure about.  
I hope you enjoyed and have a great day :) x **


	5. Day 5 - Wedding

**A/N I'm sorry this is late! I was exhausted the day I was intending to upload this and out all of yesterday. I normally try to reread a few times to edit but this one has only been read through about twice (I think it's the longest of these yet). I'd also like to point out that the rating is going up from K+ to T (for the next chapter in particular). You'll be getting both Day 5 and Day 6 at the same time (yay).**

Cold Feet

When the 100 Year War ended a new era of tentative peace began. One of the early priorities of this peace had been improving international relations around the world.

Fire Lord Zuko negotiated compensation to be paid in instalments over the span of a few decades and promptly trade routes were opened.

To the Southern Water Tribe steel, wood, fresh produce and new technologies were shipped with 6 Fire Nation vessels that had been best suited to the frosty conditions sent as non-monetary reparations.

Trade ships would go to and from the South and the Fire Nation with the liquor, carvings, cured meats and embroidery they'd trade, finding a surprisingly eager market.

These trade ships forced interactions between people of the two nations. When, in the recent past, a black metal ship chugging towards the village was a beacon of war, it was now a means to the continued flourishing of the redeveloping Southern Water Tribe and its economy. It wasn't unusual for the ships to stay over a night or two in the tribe and while many of the crew would stay in the comfort of the ship some would venture onto the tundra, walking the growing number of icy streets and eating the amazing street food found nowhere else in the world. Bato, as Hakoda's best friend and second in command, was often involved in trade negotiations, quality checks and other proceedings It was at one of these meetings, when a Fire Nation ship bringing metals, red wines and fresh fruits, that Bato met Natsumi, the captain of the vessel, a fire bender and the woman he would later fall in love with.

It was well over 3 years after the war had ended. After Sokka's engagement party, as Katara got onto a ship to take her to Ba Sing Se, Bato gave her a letter, "I was going to send it to you at the embassy but I heard you were coming here..." He waved the ship off; she read the letter in her cabin.

" _Katara – You are invited to the Southern Event of the season (because, as you know, Sokka's wedding is coming up and would take great offence to me offhandedly undermining that). Anyway, I'm getting married Squirt! I know you're probably very busy but it wouldn't be a party without you, you're like the daughter mine never had the chance to be..._

 _If you can make time in your busy schedule oh great Ambassador Master Princess and will be attending you can travel with the bride and her family. Or you could probably convince the Fire Lord to lend you another boat if a revamped trade ship isn't enough; I hear you two are very close friends._

 _You're welcome to bring a plus one; you know the women of this tribe love making way too much food for these kinds of events._

 _I wish to Tui and La you can make it and arrive safe._

 _Love, Bato"_

Natsumi was one of the traders that would brave the cold; she was taken by the hospitality of the southern people and their unfreezing liquor. She was raised in a poor northern village of the Fire Nation; her parents had never been particularly patriotic, disagreeing with the ruling regimes. She'd hidden her bending as a ploy to be kept off the front lines of the war. Kind but spirited, she demanded excellence of her personnel and similarly, in her relationships.

The ceremony was to take place 4 months later, at start of their summer in the Southern Water Tribe. Although surprised, Katara was delighted. In the Water Tribes, weddings are huge deals. Traditionally people marry within the tribe so everyone knows everyone and it's a big family affair. This will not be a traditional wedding. Still, there were always fests and festivities for up to a week, depending on the season. Now, thanks to trade agreements, food was plentiful and Katara was foreseeing an increase in her clothing size upon her return to the Fire Nation.

A tradition in the Fire Nation is that the Bride and Groom are kept apart (even if they lived together already) with the Bride staying with her family for the whole month before their wedding.

So that's what was going to happen.

Katara had met the woman on a few occasions while she was living in the south but never had the chance to really get to know her before she moved.

After a year of seeing each other for a few days at a time with months apart, Natsumi started staying on the ice for three week periods between trade ships. It was at this point that her relationship with Bato began to blossom; first as an interest in each other as friends, then in a romantic sense. Natsumi had apparently been working which was why she'd been unable to attend Sokka's engagement party.

Katara was only due to be in the Earth Kingdom for two months and would be returning to the Fire Nation after that. She sent Zuko a messenger hawk asking him to maybe be her plus one… if he wanted… maybe.

The next few months flew by. Zuko had been delighted by the invitation (he had to literally write that as a P.S. because his writing style was so formal) and said he'd reorganise his schedules and accompany her.

It wasn't much longer before Katara was back in the caldera and they reunited in a very awkward public encounter made up of do-I-hug-you-?, Where-should-I-put-my-hands-? conversations in purely facial expressions (They ended up having an uncomfortable high five).

Zuko commissioned new, formal, parkas from the Southern Water Tribe despite Katara's complaints about it being unnecessary as it was her family.

"Yes it is your family. In the Fire Nation you must wear new clothes to a wedding if you're family, something about a clean slate and starting a new life together…"

They decided not to argue over it.

The night before they're due to depart (they'd chosen to travel with the bride's family) Katara is set up in a room in the palace to save any confusion in the morning. Well that's what they told the servants and his assistant.

He sneaks out of his room and into hers stealthily. The thrill of it all makes him feel so alive… she always did call him an adrenaline junky. Once he retorted saying he's a Katara junky, she'd laughed called him an idiot and asked him to please not to say that again before kissing him.

When he finds her she's on her bed reading a scroll in her nightgown by candlelight. It's coming close to their winter now but it's still warm by most of the world's standards. He knocks awkwardly on her wardrobe as he emerges from shadows.

"Hi…"

"Hi"

They smile at each other, affectionate, innocent smiles.

He kisses her.

It gradually descends to affectionate and not-so innocent. His hands tangle in her hair, hers pull at the collar of his black turtleduck neck and he moans softly into her mouth.

She stops. He looks at her, confused and heavy lidded.

"Zuko…"

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing?"

"Well… I thought I was kissing you," He scratches the back of his neck bashfully.

"No. What is this?"

"I wanted to make the most of our last private moment before we're on the ship and surrounded by other people for three weeks."

"Not what I'm asking Zuko. What is _this?_ " She gestures between them frantically and looks at him, clearly frazzled.

"I don't understand…" He places a hand on her clothed knee.

"We've been sneaking around for 6 months Zuko and nothing has changed."

"I like things the way they are," His fingertips graze from her knee to her waist, where he strokes soft circles with his thumb.

"Attitudes aren't changing Zuko..." She crosses her arms around herself and shuffles away, turning away from him.

"Are people disrespecting you?"

"Not purposefully… once they find out I'm a diplomat…"

"Katara…"

"The rumours haven't gone away. The words they use to describe me are getting increasingly vulgar too… I was declined service in two shops today because I'm not from here, Zuko. They'll never accept me."

"Katara…"

"You know it's true Zuko... Maybe we're just kidding ourselves…" She picks up her scroll, which had fallen from her bed so satisfyingly as they'd embraced earlier, rerolling it at placing it on her night stand. She looks back at him, biting her lip, "it was nice while it lasted…"

Zuko gets up. He composes himself, swearing that he won't cry.

"It's not really like we were actually dating…" She's curling herself up and she keeps talking, each line more heart breaking than the last.

So much for her being the hopeful one…

Regardless of how awkward she feels on the walk to the docks her mood is predominantly irritation.

How dare he be ok.

Zuko is behaving cordially, like a perfect gentleman. Like the Fire Lord.

His stone cold manners make her miss when he'd have huge temper tantrums and attack people (Aang) to make a point about laziness.

Despite being 'in disguise' (they're both in casual, average, everyday Fire nation clothes) Zuko was rather recognisable and was quick to admonish people as he got onto the ship and inform them that he's just an ordinary man these next few weeks, and therefore there is no need for "my lord" or dropping to the floor to bow whenever he walked through a door.

The former trade ship was one of the 6 that were given to the South. It had been redecorated in a colour scheme resembling a sunset over the ocean and had various Water Tribe banners hanging around despite the mostly Fire Nation crew who were, in fact, the regular crew of Natsumi's trade runs.

Katara found the bride's paternal grandmother in the galley having tea and was invited to join her. The woman was ancient, the wrinkles that folded her skin almost covered her eyes and her overall appearance reminded her vaguely of an old inedible potato… a very kind, cute, old inedible potato. She insisted on everyone calling her Grammy and had oversize square glasses that enlarged her squinty brown eyes. Her skin was rather brown for a Fire Native, likely from a long life of hard work.

Grammy was thrilled that her granddaughter was getting married. She stated that in the month before the wedding Natsumi had to ask her superiors to be swapped onto the Earth Kingdom trade ship because she didn't know the Northern route. Apparently whenever she wasn't on a trade vessel she was anxiously pacing the small home they all lived in and secretly putting her veil on in the mirror when she thought everyone else was asleep.

"ol' Nat is the last of my grandbabies to get married" Grammy said, readjusting her bulky spectacles and squinting at Katara, "we all thought she'd never find somebody - imagine 36 and unmarried. I'd just about given up on that child…"

At that moment, Natsumi walks in, looking stressed. "Grammy have you seen my- - Oh, Ambassador Katara, forgive me, it's a pleasure you're travelling with us, your majesty." Katara blinks before breaking out in giggles.

"What is it?"

"Captain Natsumi, not only am I not THAT kind of Princess, you're marrying the man who is practically my uncle in about a week. You're family, none of this 'your majesty' nonsense, just Katara."

The woman blinked then laughed, "You sound like your father," she states and then scurries about looking for something.

"Your glasses are on your face dear," Grammy teases. The captain merely pokes her tongue out at the cheeky old woman.

Zuko walks in with a black haired, bearded man. The man is broad shouldered with a long thin scar running down the side of his face close to his hairline and has two fingers missing. It's been a while since Katara had looked at the Fire Lord and marvelled at how young he looks. The man is ranting about this and that and Zuko is looking on with a child-like pensiveness.

"Qiang. Have you seen my comb?"

"Why would I have taken your comb, sister?"

"I wasn't saying you took it!"

"Well, why else would I know where it is?"

The Bride-to-be huffs and storms out of the room.

"Normally she's very mild mannered," Grammy muses.

Katara looks mournfully at Zuko and he merely turns back to the raving gentleman. Grammy is more perceptive than she seems, mumbling about the joys of youth and cute bi-racial babies.

The comb is found three days later in the mouth of Qiang's 2 year old daughter, Lan, by his wife, Jing.

Natsumi's father, Shota, had retired from his job in a munitions factory 4 years before the war ended and had passed away only a month before it ended. Natsumi had been in the Fire Navy as border patrol at the time, missing out on the chance to say goodbye. Her mother, Jian, was a seamstress and had made her daughter's wedding gown. Despite her parent's disagreement with the war, it was impossible to not be involved in in some way. Qiang, her younger brother and only living sibling, had also worked in munitions (loosing fingers to it) and had been out of work since the end of the war. Jing is a nurse and works in a small make shift hospital. The family is small but tight-knit. Katara wondered how they'll get used to one of them moving to the South Pole for 3 seasons of the year…

She thinks about the news scroll she was reading and the young couple that eloped. She was the rebellious daughter of the Northern Water Tribe, claiming Katara herself as inspiration for coming to the Fire Nation, and he was the son of one of Ozai's lieutenants.

They were both disowned by their families when it was discovered. She was beaten to death by her father-in-law. Her devastated husband decided that, to respect her and her family, he'd take her body to her homeland… where her family blamed him and he was currently incarcerated in ice without a blanket. What made it worse was the fact that the news scroll painted it as a justice and was sent to the embassy anonymously...perhaps as a threat.

She spends most of the journey's days sipping tea and listening to Grammy's stories or playing with Lan and it's nights alone in her cabin, crying for herself, for Zuko, for that poor couple and her fears.

It would appear that a lot can change in the span of a day.

They'd arrived to the Southern Water Tribe on schedule; Natsumi was given the hut that would become her home to hide in with her family while Bato stayed with Katara's family in their stately home. The Fire Lord was offered residence with them also and he accepted graciously, his endearing awkwardness nowhere to be found.

Gran Gran would watch the pair intently.

When Grammy came to meet Bato's surrogate family, she and Kanna bonded by watching them at the same time and commenting to each other under their breath. When asked about it they merely said that at their age one becomes apt at reading body language. That was all.

For women of, what were, warring nations more of their similarities were clear than their differences.

It was on the day of Bato's wedding that Katara's perspective changed.

She was in their igloo straightening the groom's warrior garb, wearing the parka Zuko commissioned her grandmother for.

"You never met Dyani." He says simply. Katara looks up, confused.

"My first wife was best friends with your mother. In fact she claimed to be in love with your dad as well when we were teenagers. I wore her down though." He chuckled, "Dyani was a water bender, just like you. We married the moment we could basically, it was her 16th birthday… she died in a raid before you were born, along with our two daughters. I never thought I'd love again. I never thought I could forgive the fire nation for what they took from me. Then I met Natsumi. I saw the way your Team Avatar worked together, loved each other and were blind to the nation. It gave me hope. It opened my eyes and I believed that peace was possible. I found a friend in Natsumi, and then we fell in love."

Katara cries. She told herself she wouldn't.

When they're standing in a stupidly fancy ice ballroom (the Northerns' theatrics when rebuilding their sister tribe weren't appreciated by the young _princess_ ) surrounded with ice flowers and real ones shipped from all over the world, she cries.

When Natsumi, tall, pale, raven haired, straight nosed, bespectacled, proud Captain Natsumi cried as she pledged unending love, acceptance and dedication to the relationship and making it work, Katara cried with her.

The festivities occur around her; she has wine in her glass but isn't drinking it. Her eyes search for Zuko. There is a tap on her shoulder and he's there, holding one of the table decorations in his hand. It was a glass ornament with a sun and moon design inside; both equal, both beautiful. He's staring at it.

"You asked me what _this_ was, Katara. This is it. Sun and Moon. Water and Fire. Opposites that balance each other."

He is slightly winded by the sudden impact of her wrapping her arms tightly around him. He relaxes and envelopes her trembling form in his arms, his head drooping and back stooping so he could rest his face against the juncture of her neck. No one's paying attention to them, they're all caught up in the revelry of the wedding.

"I'm so scared Zuko."

"So am I," they reluctantly separate, "but I'm more afraid of losing you. I can't Katara. You were the one that wanted a big secret…"

As the two young adults made up and quietly agreed that being together wasn't impossible, stealing glances at the happy couple that share their respective heritages, a pair of old women clinked their glasses and smiled knowingly.

"I think your granddaughter will be next"


	6. Day 6 - Somebody to Die For

**A/N Just going to leave an angst warning here. So far the tone of these has been relatively light... that's about to change. There is character death.**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own Avatar**

The Final Battle

Her heart stopped.

Her mouth went dry.

The fire dissipates and he's there on the ground. He tries to get up but instead he spasms and then he's down again, groaning. She wanted to go to him, more than anything in the world at that very moment. More than she wanted to take down Azula. More than she wanted to end the war.

But Azula is not one to be ignored and there is lightening shooting towards her followed by flames and she's forced to wait to help Zuko.

"Zuzu, you don't look so good!"

Katara needs to neutralise her. Zuko was right – something's off; she's unstable, off her game. Azula's mocking and taunts only harden Katara's resolve.

He needs her.

It's why she's there in the first place. He can't take Azula alone. He needs her.

He needs to be ok because she needs him too.

The world needs him.

She needs to take down Azula so she can help him.

It's like her mind and body are separate as she fights the unhinged princess. Her instincts drive her and in some ways all her thoughts are _how can I stop her long enough to get to him_. Her mind plays the image of him jumping into the line of the lightening over and over.

Stupid. Stupid. She doesn't matter. The fate of a nation isn't entwined with her destiny. His life actually means something.

Then she's in water with Azula, tethering her to the grate with chains as the Princess struggles. She lets the water down secures the chains and lets out a laboured breath.

Zuko.

Her feet can't carry her fast enough as she's practically tripping over herself trying to get to him. He has rolled onto his back. He's grimacing. She can smell cooking meat…burning flesh. Azula's screams serve as background music as she tries to listen to his heartbeat.

He coughs, a puff of smoke escaping his lips as he does so.

"Thank you Katara", his voice is choked and his head starts to loll. She catches it with a hand, making him look at her. He's wincing.

"no, no, no, Zuko you can't do this to me now." Tears well up in her eyes and she shuffles closer. "We won Zuko, We won. You're the Fire Lord". Another cough followed by a groan. "You can't be down that easily okay? OKAY? YOU CHASED US AROUND THE WORLD!" She's hysterical, Azula falls silent (as is her brother) and Katara yelled, tears falling freely down her dusty cheeks.

"It was really dumb what you did back there," her voice barely above a whisper. She looks away and plays absent minded-ly with his shirt.

He gives her a weak smile and with clear exertion wipes a tear from her eye. She bends water to her, (re-drenching a steam dried Azula) and taking the tears from her shirt.

"I don't matter Zuko. Do you see it? My life is disposable. But you," both her hands are on his face, the water enveloping them glows and the small cuts begin to heal. She rests her forehead on his and she's crying. "You're special Zuko. You are important. You have the power to make a real difference. You matter,"

"But Katara…" he speaks so slowly, like every syllable is a struggle… she wants to shoosh him, tell him to rest. She moves her hands back over the entry wound and feels a vague jolt go through her body as the last of the electricity transfers into the water. "You matter to me." His voice is barely over a whisper now and Katara is cursing Azula internally as she watches his spirit fade, his skin becoming ashen or perhaps that's her imagination or the dust. She ignores the feeling that her healing isn't making a difference.

"I…I…" He's looking at her in the eye but his head is starting to grow heavy and his jaw slack, "l-lo…love-"

Silence.

"Zuko?" his eyes roll back and a final puff of ash escapes his parted lips, "ZUKO!"

She pushes his eyelids closed gently then kisses him. In her mother's stories a kiss fixes everything.

Nothing.

She pushes on his chest and tries to restart his heart and breathe for him.

Azula lets out an ear piercing scream which transforms into a mournful wail; the girl thrashing against her fetters.

The tears are in free fall and she clutches him, dragging his lifeless weight into her arms, crying uncontrollably.

"No. No. No. No." becomes her mantra, recited under her breath as she strokes his back, his hair, his face and wills him back to life. "Don't do this to me Zuko!" He's so heavy, she feels so weak, "we were supposed to do this together." Her voice cracks, "You were always there chasing us, you're invincible, you can't be..." She sobs against his neck, laying him back down on the ground and curling herself against his left side.

She traces his scar with her finger tips; her crying now little more than strangled breaths and streams of tears, "You're not supposed to leave me like this. You're a fighter Zuko." She tilts his lank head towards her, staring into his peaceful face. She presses her forehead to his and squeezes her eyes shut. "I LOVE YOU! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE" her hands caress both side of his face, his arms are loose and at awkward angles. One of his knees is bent out in a way that would be painful.

He can't feel pain anymore.

His father can't do anything more to hurt him…

Regardless of how everything else goes, at least he has found peace.

They find her there. Curled up in the foetal position by his side with her hands grasping at his tattered shirt and dirty trails on her face where the tears had been. Sokka rushes to her side as quickly as he can in the cast. He drops to the ground, places two fingers to her neck then his.  
"Her heart's beating but hi-", he doesn't finish the sentence. Instead grabbing on of the fallen prince's arms and crossing it to the opposite side of his chest in a Water Tribe stance of dignity. The other arm was being held tightly by his sister. She made no noise. Her eyes were barely open and seeing nothing. She had no tears left but was still sobbing silently, her breathing shallow and body quivering.

Toph stands back and, for what feels like the first time, says nothing. Suki puts a hand on her shoulder and in an instant the young girl is wrapping her in a tight hug, burying her face deep into Suki's chest piece and silently letting the tears fall.

Aang lands his glider about to report that he didn't find them in the palace when he stops. "No…" slips out of his mouth as he clutches painfully onto his glider; he inhales through his teeth and drops his head.

She'd been lying there almost a day. Azula was asleep or just catatonic in chains metres away and had been since dawn. She'd wailed almost constantly for hours after Zuko'd death.

Katara refused to move.

Eventually, after their arrival, Hakoda managed to detangle her from her friend. He carried her as if she were a small child that fell asleep by the campfire and was being taken to bed. She fussed until she could see him, see his body, being carried alongside hers by his uncle, who had steady streams of tears silently pouring down his face.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to live. Continue to grow, be remarkable and change the world. Katara knew that if she could she'd trade with him; she wished she was dead if only he would still be alive.

She didn't speak for three days.

Wracked with guilt and shame for not being able to save him.

He is cremated instead of coronated, in front of his country and the rest of the world. He died a hero and was honoured forever to be remembered as a man who faced adversity, was raised by a demon but chose to strive for peace and good with unquestionable honour. His name would be synonymous with diligence and humility. He would be mourned by the world.

When Iroh was crowned Fire Lord it was with a heavy heart.

It is the night of his funeral that she first speaks. They are in the palace and she's curled up on a lounge chair in a bedroom that smells like him. She hasn't eaten since the battle but she drinks water just so she is hydrated enough to cry more. She stares blankly at a portrait of him and a beautiful woman she assumes to be his mother. She's so exhausted she can't cry. She can't feel anything.

When the door opens she barely hears it.

Iroh settles beside her. He has no tea. He isn't trying to get her to eat. He isn't eating either.

She curls into the old man's side.

"So much for someone so young to battle with…" he says softly, she isn't sure if he's talking about Zuko or her but she nods all the same and nuzzles her head into him. "My dear, you have to forgive yourself." He kisses her forehead and she once more feels like an infant. "My Nephew died for you to be safe, do not let this life go to waste." He raps his fist against the bed post and servants come in with a bowl of pain rice. "I heard about how your father found you last nice sweet girl, please do not allow Zuko's sacrifice to be in vain. I do not pretend to know if you were intending to be face down in your element but I know you are a smart girl. You have a responsibility, dear. You need to live for him now, make him proud. Live to the potential that he saw in you. I trust his judgement, Miss Katara, that you are somebody worth dying for."

When she spoke it was unclear if it aimed at Iroh or her late friend. Her mouth struggles to form the words as her lips quiver; all the emotion is still so raw. It's only two words but from them she'll attempt to carve out an identity. The sentiments behind them and Iroh's advice stay with her through every day of the rest of her life.

 _"_ _Thank you"_

 **A/N and THANK YOU reader. To be completely honest I'm really interested in this sort of AU (keep in mind it's a very difficult interest as Zuko is my favourite character and hurting him breaks my little fangirl heart) and I'm thinking about doing a short series like this looking at the impact that Zuko not surviving the final battle would be.** **  
** **I'd also like to note that this isn't** **necessarily a romantic shipping piece, It all depends on how you want to interpret it. It could be about friendship equally as it could be about love.  
I'm sorry if I made you sad, I'd like to promise the next one will be nice and fluffy but I'm planning on making it Korra Compliant  
Remember, Variety is the spice of life haha  
I hope you're enjoying these so far, until next time x **


	7. Day 7 - Regret

Duty over Destiny

Aang was no expert on women but he'd found himself believing he was an expert on Katara.

They'd been together 15 years and known each other for 16. Surely that means he knows her inside and out. He's watched as she shifted from an awkward 14 year old with no training into a waterbending master into a 30 year old mother with beautiful curves, a refined manner and a 'mum voice' perfected over a lifetime.

They've been married four years now, so he kind of figured he knew all there was to know.

* * *

He lingers by the archway to the royal gardens in the Fire Nation Palace. They're vast, lush, green and full of native flowers. There is a crystal blue pond filled with mouse-koi and golden batfish. A family of turtleducks live in the reeds and the hummingbird-frogs eat the spit-dragonflies before they hurt you. A pregnant Katara is sitting by the water's edge, bending bubbles that are chased by the various fish.

He can't escape the sense of masculine pride he gets when he looks at her. She always criticises him for being possessive, "I love you Aang but that doesn't mean you own me", but in the comfort of his own mind (and in conversations when she's not around) he likes to brag about how beautiful she is and that she's his, carrying his child for the second time.

Rolling in the dirt somewhere and digging for worms was Bumi, 2.5 years old with tan skin and uneven sprouts of brown hair (Katara had tried to fix it but he's a restless child and even when sleeping wouldn't stay still long enough for her to cut it) because he hacked at it with scissors that were left lying around a few weeks earlier.

 _"He could've poked his eye out Aang, don't try to make light of it!"_

 _"But he didn't Katara, he's fine. I mean, he has you to take care of him"_

 _"Yes, but when I asked you to watch him for an hour so I could finally have a relaxing bath I'm interrupted after 15 minutes because you left him to his own devices while you played a game with some Air Acolytes. That's right, I know you weren't on the toilet at the time, I can't believe you lied to me…"_

Despite the little arguments Aang was incredibly happy. He had his forever girl.

And nothing could take that away from him.

His eyes went to the orange ribbon around her neck; the blue stone engraved with an iceburg design to signify the day they met. He didn't propose for the longest time. When Katara got to marrying age he had been irate (going into the Avatar state on more than one occasion) when he heard of other men asking to wed her. She, obviously, rejected these suitors, assuming that once Aang was marrying age that things would become more serious between them. Aang turned 16, the Water Tribe marrying age but, unfamiliar with Air Nomad tradition she assumed that it was older, perhaps 18 as it is in the Fire Nation.

However he was a monk and monks don't marry. In his culture, children were conceived during fertility festivals once a year (meaning everyone's birthday is around the same time) that brings together two of the temples. Often times, the biological parents weren't known precisely, offspring are raised by the community.

When Aang explained this to Katara after she asked him to marry her (he was 21 by this point and by her people's standards she was an old maid - unmarried and unengaged at 24), she was highly unimpressed. After a huge argument he realised that Katara would not accept the ways of his culture. She would not want him laying with air acolytes even if it was purely for reproduction purposes. He ran off to his home temple for a few days to think about it. The culture that was lost to the world without him. He gave up control of the Avatar state for Katara he'd give up this element of his heritage.

He decides to propose before she turns 25, carving her a necklace and prefacing with the fact that it was completely unheard of in his culture to marry but he was going to because he loves her and it's what she wants.

 _"It isn't 'what I want' Aang. I mean I do want to get married but it's more than that. It's the tradition of my people and the rest of the world. Since the loss of the Air Nomads all of the societies have cruel judgements that fall upon unmarried women with children, which you've presumed we'll have for the past decade. Especially if the man who fathers said children is fathering children with other women also. I refuse to be ridiculed and more than that to bring children into the world that will be received with cruelty."_

When he presented her with the necklace she cried. She was so excited she ran away with it before even giving him an answer. She disappeared off for a while and he found her later on with her Grandmother, evidence that she'd continued crying on her face. She'd accepted and Aang insisted to clasp it for her.

Gran Gran told her she looked beautiful.

 _Katara would never tell him that she doesn't like to wear orange._

* * *

Over the years they'd attended so many events together. Sometime he'd lose Katara among the masses of people but she was always good at finding a friend. Oftentimes he'd find her outside, she'd get claustrophobic after a while, by a fountain or in a garden with Zuko. Aang wasn't sure what his best friend and girlfriend talked about, sometimes she'd be upset and he'd ask Zuko and he'd give Aang a vague, non-committal responses.

So Aang figured she was mothering him, making sure he was sleeping enough, and he was concerning her with his lack of concern for himself... It would happen more frequently after Mai left him and consistently before his wedding.

* * *

Despite Zuko being his best friend Aang knew surprisingly little about him on a deeper level. He wasn't sure what had happened with him and Mai, Zuko would get weird and defensive so Aang would drop the matter.

He did know that Zuko gets great presents for people. This would create some problems from Aang's perspective, though he'd seldom bring that up with Zuko.

Every year on Katara's birthday she and Aang would have a fight. He'd run off for a few hours after getting mad and then return spouting the word sweetie and covering her with kisses.

The fight was always about one thing.

Zuko.

Zuko always got Katara the best birthday presents. They'd always have some kind of special meaning to her that seemed to evade Aang. Every year, Aang would bring her a bunch of Panda Lillies and something recommended to him by her brother or the woman in the shop.

 _"Your girlfriend would love this vase; we also have a matching set of coasters and tea cups…"_

 _"Katara likes cooking, I don't know maybe get her a new cook pot"_

She would always smile, kiss him on the cheek and say thank you.

His present was never a real problem.

When she received Zuko's (which would arrive, without fail, on the morning of her birthday regardless of where in the world they are) her entire face would light up and she'd be rushing about to find some paper to write him a thank you letter. She always wrote them with a glass pen her gave her for her 15th birthday (it was hand crafted and, if Aang wasn't so bitter about how much she loved it, he'd admit that it was beautiful). Aang got her a glass pen the following year, it was yellow and blue and fancier than the one Zuko had gotten her and yet her response was nowhere near as excited as it was the year before when it was from Zuko. He barely sees her use the one he got her… only after he asks about it really.

Her favourite summer dressing robe was light blue silk with cherry blossoms embroidered on it. Zuko gave her it for her 17th birthday when she was travelling the world with Aang. She'd barely wanted to take it off for the week after she got it. Even all these years later she still has it and despite Aang giving her a replacement one with a single Panda Lilly embroidered on it she still favours her original one.

Every time she'd open the presents she'd be thrilled without fail. It was almost always one thing. Aang would get her multiple things. Half the time Zuko's weren't anywhere near as expensive as what Aang would get her. Generally Aang would point this out and fault the gift on something, Katara would defend it and they'd have a rather dramatic argument over nothing. It was Aang's insecurity, how dare another man make his girlfriend and now wife so pleased.

Despite how beautiful she looks in it, seeing her in that blue robe makes him feel slightly sick.

* * *

She had always loved visiting the Fire Nation. There had been some hesitance from her before she and Aang were engaged and after Zuko's wedding (it was a world stopping event, planned by his Uncle). She'd always say that she didn't want to encroach on the newlyweds' privacy. Zuko would always tell her that she was always welcome in the Palace, Aang piped up a "what about me" and he'd be satiated with you're the Avatar, even if I told you not to come in you have four kinds of bending to break down the door". They all laughed and Katara and Zuko exchanged a strange expression. Aang paid it no mind.

Zuko's wife, Ezme, was from a merchant family in the southern Fire Nation and had worked as a nurse's assistant during the war. She was around his age. They'd met during a hospital inspection. She was taller than Katara by a head, kind, strong-willed and compassionate. They married at 23 despite getting engaged when he was 20, (Zuko had insisted he was putting it off so prepare the nation beforehand).

Katara had delivered their daughter, Izumi, 7 years ago.

 _They weren't ever very close though, Katara and Ezme, they'd chat, so Aang kind of assumed they were friends but there was an overall reluctance from both parties to get to know one another really well_. _It wasn't bitter but there was an unspoken understanding and jealousy of the other woman._

* * *

There had been times over the year when he wasn't sure if Katara was happy. They'd be away from the south for long periods or he would refuse to settle anywhere for too long. Times where he'd unknowingly trivialised her problems, contributions or emotions. A few times (though more than he could probably count) he'd run off afterward fights and not contacted her for a few days then returned apologised and begged forgiveness talking about how much he loved her and not having her around breaking his heart.

15 years later and she's still by his side.

* * *

Fresh out of a meeting, Zuko walks into the gardens where Katara is relaxing. Aang isn't sure why, but he hides in a nearby tree.

"…Hey" The Fire Lord is always faintly awkward when he speaks to Katara. Aang believes it's because she used to hate him and despite their friendship, she is foremost his best friend's wife. He can hear the smile in his voice.

Katara looks up and beams at him. Her whole face lights up and she stands.

"The pin looks nice,"

"It's my favourite."

Aang looks at the hair pin she's wearing, another Zuko gift; it's simple, elegant and useful - white gold with a single purple-blue Fire Opal.

Aang bought her a bunch of more elaborate pins but she always wears this one.

Bumi toddles to Zuko's side and the Fire Lord drops his thick outer robe, bends and picks up the child who cuddles into his neck.

When Aang looks at her face at that moment everything hits him.

The look on her face is just for Zuko; A warm smile straight from the heart.

It reminds him of the look on her face the moment she first saw Bumi, but different.

While Aang knows Katara loves him, she's his wife, he can tell he wasn't her first choice.

She loves him. Zuko. Katara is in love with Zuko.

He thinks back to when he saw her the first time after defeating Ozai. She was healing Zuko, speaking to him in hushed tones and he was smiling and laughed. Zuko never laughs.

He thinks about the anger in her confusion when Mai reappeared in his life. He figured she was yelling at him because Mai was an enemy. She was yelling because she was in love with him… they couldn't be together if he was with Mai…

Zuko… he was in love with her too.

Aang almost falls out of the tree.

When she'd cry in gardens before and even after he met Ezme it was because he was probably asking her to be together.

When she would avoid public displays of affection in Zuko's presence he figured it was because she was shy. It was because Zuko was gritting his teeth and clenching his fist under the table as Aang tried to kiss her between courses.

"I wasn't even meant to be in this time period…" Aang thinks to himself as he watches them talk. All he saw was himself and interpreted everything in a way that would benefit him unless it was blatantly obvious. She was so kind and felt a duty toward him. She hadn't been mothering Zuko outside parties. No. She'd been mothering Aang every day of her life.

They aren't touching. They're standing a friendly distance from each other; perfectly rehearsed. Two friends married to other people. If a servant walked passed they'd have nothing to gossip about. If either of their spouses walked out it would be far from incriminating.

It's the looks on their faces and the sound of their voices that give away the intimacy.

He'd brought bread to feed the turtleducks and shows Bumi how. They look like a little family. Bumi has her complexion.

While Bumi throws food to the birds Zuko turns to her. He's a man now, his hair is long and glossy but he didn't have time to shave his beard that morning; Katara comments, poking his stubbled chin and he laughs. He laughs more when he's with her.

"Yeah Ezme hates it, says it's scratchy…"

"Really? I think you look hot."

He blushes like a teenager… so does she.

"Get it? Because you're a fire bender…" It's a clumsy recovery. They've clearly been trying to monitor their attraction.

"Well you look beautiful. I'd say you're the most graceful pregnant woman I've ever seen but I think I'd be skun if she ever found out."

Katara laughed, "it isn't her fault, I hear when the baby is going to be a firebender they raise your body temperature a few extra degrees. She was full term anyway."

They're silent for a while. Watching Bumi play and avoiding looking at eachother.

"I got you a present…"

"Zuko you've already given me something for my birthday… The earrings are beautiful, and they were your mother's! I'm surprised your wife didn't want them."

He scratched the back of his neck, "I may have not shown them to my wife…"

She lightly slapped his arm. "Zuko" she admonished teasingly

"She has one of my mother's scarves and her crowns. I wanted to give the earrings to you."

She glanced around, no one was there (people don't tend to look up trees). When she deemed the coast clear she shuffled over and rested her head on his shoulder. "Can I tell you a secret?"

She was speaking softer now, the wind was blowing towards Aang, carrying her words with it.

"Always"

"I'm glad you didn't give them to your wife."

He smiled at her grazing a kiss against her temple.

"I am too. They suit you…"

She sits up and he hand goes to where his lips were.

"So what is it you wanted to give me?" she asks, pulling Bumi's head out from under the water where he was making faces at the fish.

Zuko produces a monogrammed handkerchief and dabs the boy's face lightly to stop the pond water going in his eyes any further.

"Why don't you go play in the flowers sweetheart," she says to Bumi and he replies with an "Alrighty-o Mummy" and pounces into the Ash Violets.

"Trying to ruin my garden, waterbender?" He raises an eyebrow at her, Aang realises that the Fire Lord's crown wasn't being worn throughout this encounter.

"I brought my best garden ruining weapon,"

"Who knew flowers' nightmares were so cute?"

She swells with pride. They look back out across the pond.

"The drawings of Izumi's you've sent me are up on the walls in my sitting room on the Island."

"They're great aren't they? I particularly like the one of the three of us in an underwater palace with Aang as an apple and Ezme a mermaid."

"Me too, we all looked like potatoes with arms." Aang remembered the drawing, it was done a couple of years ago not long after Bumi was born.

"Anyway…" Zuko passes her a small red box. She opens it. Aang can't see inside. Tears come to her eyes.

"Zuko, what is this? I can't accept this."

"It's the ring I was going to propose to you with… That's what we do here… propose with rings. Without making marriage sound like it's just a favour to satisfy someone being 'unreasonable'. Besides, I wouldn't have wanted to replace your only memento of your mother." He scowled and Aang felt like everything he'd done and believed was false. All he felt was remorse. He'd never realised how selfish he was. He also felt guilty for watching… He was a 27 year old man, up a tree stalking his wife.

"I've had it over 12 years now… It was in my pocket the day Aang came back from his particularly long soul search. I was going to talk about how I felt about you and ask you to marry me. I didn't care what my council said. Then he came back and was announced before I had a chance. I want you to have it. I always wanted you to have it. Even if this isn't the way I wanted it to be…"

She squeezed his hand then looked at it again. "It's really beautiful Zuko."

"I had it especially made for you."

"It matches my hair pin,"

"That was actually meant to be presented to you with this that day…"

"Zuko…" He looks coy and blushes.

"You're such a wonderful man. It's so romantic. Ezme is so lucky."

"Aang is too, far more so."

She stands. There is steeliness in her gaze that Aang recognises as her concealing tears and trying to calm herself.

"I'd better be going… I should find Aang. His discussions should've finished over an hour ago…"

"Of course,"

She picks Bumi up, propping him on her hip his leg resting over her large stomach. He clearly longs to help her but they're returning to reality now. He's remembering his place.

For a moment Aang considers plopping down from the tree and carrying his son for her but that would be highly problematic afterwards.

"Katara."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you learned to love him."

"I'm glad you found her. She makes a wonderful Fire Lady... She's good for you."

She leaves and Aang watches Zuko sit alone in the garden. He feels so sad for him; the man that would've married her in his place and loved her just as much… perhaps even more than he does. Zuko's head was in his hands for a moment, his top knot becomes loose and messy. Aang watches silently as his best friend cries quietly. It isn't violent instead it's bittersweet and accepted. They're familiar tears, like he does this regularly to the point of them almost being comforting.

He gets up, redoes his top knot, puts his outer robe back on and gets his crown out of a pocket in it. Ezme comes out from the archway, the strong scent of sugar plums following along with her.

"Hi Honey, I just got out of an education assembly and they loved it! My suggestions about involving family and curriculum about the history of the other nations were really well received!" She sounds so excited. Zuko has wiped his face and smiles with only the faintest sadness still present. She runs to him and he lifts her and spins her around. She giggles and kisses him.

"I'm so happy for you, you worked very hard on that pitch." He puts her down gradually, with care.

"I did, didn't I? Lucky I had the best Fire Lord in history to help me with it." She winks at him

"Considering the last few Fire Lords waged war against the rest of the war I think I probably could accept that title." She laughs; it's full of mirth, full of life. She wraps a slim, pale arm around his and walks with him out of the gardens.

"I think we should celebrate. Perhaps if you're free in the late morning we could have a family picnic brunch. Izumi would love that! The Avatar and his family can come too if you'd like, I know they're very dear friends of yours and they're leaving the capital soon."

"No, let's celebrate just the three of us. I think I'll announce your accomplishment at dinner tonight as well. I'll clear my late morning." He kisses her on the cheek and they disappear into the palace.

Aang gets down, straightens his clothes and stretches his back and legs. He sneaks into the stable to pet Appa. Moments later Katara is at the door calling his name.

She smiles when she sees him and kisses Appa on the nose. She's holding hands with Bumi.

"Bumi has agreed to have a haircut as long as it's the same as his daddy's"

Aang laughs and whisks his son up onto his shoulders. Katara laughs. She picks a leaf out of his robe, confused for a moment but dismisses it as unimportant.

"Ready to come in? Iroh recommended a blend to me in his letter and said he left some in his room. Apparently it sooths swelling and I could go for that."

They walk inside, the Avatar only slightly quieter than usual.

* * *

That night, as Katara changes, a small box falls out of the pocket of her gown.

Aang picks it up, "hey Katara, what's this?"

She blinks, "Oh, I got it today…"

He opens it and looks at the ring; It's white gold with a beautiful purple fire opal with specs of reds and blues encircled with small colourless diamonds. It's perfect.

"Go on, put it on! You'll have to show me which stall you got it from… It's beautiful." He smiles at her. She cries.

"I'm sorry… pregnancy hormones," he rubs her back and says it's okay. He tells her to sit down and he rubs her sore feet despite her objections.

"No Katara, I never do this sort of thing. That my little airbender you're carrying in there. I want you to be comfortable".

She snorts but smiles broadly, "Or waterbender"

"or waterbender," he agrees. There is silence for a while, comfortable silence that is few and far between with a 2.5 year old.

"I love you Aang,"

"Love you too 'Tara,"

He does. So much. He regrets being so blind for so long. He feels like he stopped her from being with her soulmate. He swears he'll dedicate the rest of his life to being a better husband. The kind she deserves. The kind Zuko would've been.

As sorry as he is, he's also happy. Everything worked out in a way. Maybe not the way it was meant to be but there is always the next life. This time around he gets everything he wanted.

* * *

 **A/N That's day 7 done. 1 week down and I'm already behind (This is the longest one yet though). Hopefully you guys are enjoying these. I'm trying not to write too OOC (let me know how that's going if you'd like). They're getting less and less proof-read so let me know if there are any glaring problems there.  
When LoK started I tried to be charitable to Kataang, (read as: their grandkids are cute). Then season 2 and Aang is revealed to have been a bad father to his non-airbender children and I'm pissed again. Bloody Bryke haha. I kinda think Aang was a man-child with good intentions.  
If you're at all interested in seeing some really cool stones look up 'Dragons Breath Fire Opal', they're beautiful and some kinda look like the Eye of Sauron.  
Where-ever you are in the world, have a great day/night, until next time xx (I know it's meant to be tomorrow... we'll see haha, I really am trying)**

 **A/N (4/2017) Day 21 - Unravel is a prequel to this chapter. I'm a sucker for a bittersweet romance.**


	8. Day 8 - Lullaby

**A/N We are now back on track I think thanks to my plan for this prompt having a couple of hundred words for it already written. Be warned this one is pretty dark. Very much a Hurt/Comfort chapter. I can honestly say this is my favourite that I've written so far.  
It's also probably the shortest but I feel like the last one can make up for the length of this. Besides I think short and sweet is highly under rated (I'm pretty much exactly 5 foot tall) **

**This can also fit into the little continuity I've kind of created for this month (The postwar storyline of days 1, 3 and 5) which I can confirm will cover about half of the prompts, maybe more (I still have a few blank spaces).**

 **A quick shout out to StreetFlare for being my proof reader on this one (despite it being the one requiring it the least), thank you for you kind words and help :) Be sure to check him out if you have any interest in RWBY!**

 **Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy it, please let me know what you think x**

That Intangible Feeling

His father is standing above him. His hair is greasy, breath foul and voice as menacing as the last time. Zuko is back on the Agni Kai stadium floor, on his knees.

"I may not be able to bend, you weak, miserable failure, but I can still bend and break your honourless neck. Do you see what you have done to our nation? You've destroyed it; the economy, public relations, entirely your fault. You ruined the proudest nation in the world and made us the bitch of some wuss of a twelve year old kid with too much power than he knows what to do with. You should've killed me. He was too weak to but you could have. I guess you're weak too, you're even worse than that bald bastard. At least he could land a hit on me."

Zuko's world is spinning; his father's voice bouncing around his mind and making him ache all over. He wants to retort, to yell, to do anything but sit obediently and wait for death. But he can't. He's frozen, feeling sick and dizzy and terrified.

"You couldn't even kill me when I was defenceless. You're so pathetic, keeping me around because you think I know where your whore of a mother disappeared off to. I'm almost surprised you weren't smart enough to follow the umbilical cord that you clearly forgot to cut. Not that she'd recognise you anyway, with your retched, deformed face. Do you think she'd cry if she saw you?"

Zuko buckles over covering his ears with his hands, uncontrollably crying. His scar feels like it's burning all over again. His world goes black; he raises his head only to see his father's face three times larger than normal with the exaggerated teeth and brows of a demon mask. His father chuckles, deep and manically with the sound seemingly duplicated, and a clawed hand wraps around Zuko's neck.

"She would cry. I want to cry just thinking about the fact that you're my son. You're a failure. You know they still want me on the throne. The people aren't dumb enough to fall for this peace shit that you seem so set on spouting. They want a leader that can actually rule. They want the pride the Fire Nation once had back. They want your head on a stick. Come to think of it… I want that too." The former Fire Lord smirks wickedly, showing off the huge fangs.

"I hear your spineless Uncle moved back from Ba Sing Se to help you." Ozai guffaws and it echoes with an increasingly metallic sound. "That old coot is just as hopeless as you are. You've doomed the Fire Nation. Perhaps once I'm done with you I'll pay my _darling_ brother a visit. _Yesssss…_ " His tongue flickers and it's forked like a snake's, "I'll give him some of my new favourite tea... I may even let him use your empty skull as a tea cup, at least then you'll be of some use. Oh the tea. It's a new brew. Care to guess the secret ingredients?"

Zuko swallows though his mouth is dry, He can hear distant screaming.

"No? Here's a clue, rather than stupid leaves it uses the ground up bones of my good-for-nothing son."

Ozai's face splits with a grin and his laughter feels like physical attacks. The hand around Zuko's neck tightens and the claws dig in. He feels warm blood start to run down his chest.

Then there is a distinct comforting "shhh". He feels his hair being stroked. Everything falls like a curtain, he watches as his father's face ripples and disappears into an abyss. He doesn't even know if he's even real anymore. The screaming is still there and he believes he's dead. That's the only explanation.

" _Zuko_ "

What was that? His mother? It was so fleeting. …such a soothing sound. It stopped. He's back and feels like he's drowning in the darkness. Everything is an empty, hollow black.

 _"ZUKO_ "

Again? Perhaps it's an angel. He's surely dead. He can't breathe. All there is… is the screaming.

And… a song?

He's vaguely aware of the screaming stopping.

On some level he knows that the awful sound was him.

Now all he knows is Katara. His head is cradled in her lap and she's stroking his hair to soothe him singing a tune he doesn't recognise in a language he doesn't know.

Something about that unfamiliarity is comforting.

He wants to be anywhere but here, in the Fire Nation. Her song transports him to the south without the necessity for a parka or over a week in a ship.

Despite it not being like anything he grew up with, it felt like home. Not what his 'home' had been but that intangible feeling of warmth and comfort and love that others associate 'home' with.

Memories of the dreams flash back into the forefront of his consciousness. He sits up. When he looks her in the eyes he knows that she won't think any less of him if he cries.

And he does.

To make up for every time he pretended to be strong.

He cries.

"It's okay," she rests her forehead on his. He holds onto her shoulders to stay upright.

He's gripping so tight she thinks it'll bruise but she says nothing. Her pain is nothing compared to what he's going through.

He faintly registers the door closing and the sensation of others' presence dissipating.

There is a plateau in his crying, his grip begins to loosen and he starts to whisper, over and over, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry". She pulls him into an embrace, stroking his back and repeating the mantra "It's okay".

Or at least it will be. Unlike the times before when he'd have the nightmare, she was there, pulling him out of it before his neck snapped and he died all over again.

"You want to talk about it?"

He shakes his head. His throat is raw.

She'd tell him the next day that his guards had been trying to wake him when she'd run in. He'd been clutching at his own neck, screaming deafeningly, his legs tensing and shifting systematically.

"Would you like me to stay?"

He nods.

She's lit by the moonbeams that slip through his window.

She looks tired and concerned, blue eyes filled with an expression he doesn't recognise.

"Okay."

And she does stay.

She's in a blue night gown and slips under the sheets of his bed, holding them up so he can crawl back under. He notes to himself that the red satiny sheets look like blood in this lighting and he decides that he'll get new ones commissioned tomorrow.

She's half propped up on an elbow with a gentle, sympathetic smile. Or perhaps it's an emphatic smile… he wonders how many times such a beautiful, kind and loving soul has woken from her dreams screaming.

He'd hate to know.

He lies down and she shuffles a little closer.

In the morning he'd realise how inappropriate it all was. The unattached Fire Lord had the stunning war hero and new ambassador in his bed. But at the moment all that mattered to him was the fact she was there.

She'd stroke his shaggy hair and placate him as he slept.

He could face his demons with her there beside him. He'd have a voice and an opinion that is valued.

He felt safe.

And it felt like home.


	9. Day 9 - Sun and Moon

**A/N This is the now updated, proofread and edited version of chapter 9. Thanks again to StreetFlare for fixing my terrible tense.**

 **I hope you enjoyx**

When The Day Met Met The Night 

It was the middle of summer but the weather was mild by Zuko's standards. It was that time of year again, the war re-emerging at the forefront of social consciousness. He was in Ba Sing Se; the annual celebration of the war ending was due to begin in the next few days. _Has it really been two years already?_ Before the international holiday celebrating the peace, talks were held in the Earth Kingdom capital regarding revisions to trade agreements and the still erect walls, so Zuko was already in the city.

Despite having been there for a week or so, today was his first opportunity to actually leave and roam the streets of the proud city. He wore local fashions but was still glaringly obvious that he was a foreigner (no one else was wearing long sleeves with such a warm wind coming from the deserts).

"Looks like Uncle has extended the shop outdoors…" Zuko muses as he approaches the building. An elegant white fence encloses what appears to be a well maintained, thriving garden. Over the tops of fledgling trees Zuko could see the spire of what he assumed to be a gazebo.

He walked into the opulent teahouse and was greeted a by familiar face.

"Lee?"

"Jin?"

There was a pregnant pause as the two stared at each other, mouths slightly agape. She looked essentially the same; her hair was in twin braids (though possibly longer than they were the last time he saw her), she'd filled out a bit, her clothes were cleaner and of better quality, an apron is around her waist.

"What are you doing here?" she asks. It isn't rude, it's more breathy disbelief. Perhaps the question was meant to be rhetorical.

He answers anyway.

"I'm here to see my Uncle… what are you doing here?" He's still shaken by her sudden appearance.

"I work here." It's almost curt, like she's stating the complete obvious.

Which she is.

Zuko's eyes fall on the note pad in her hand and the Jasmine Dragon insignia emblazoned on her chest.

"Ah nephew, I see you're reacquainting yourself with my favourite tea server, Miss Jin is a true blessing on my humble tea shop" The young woman blushes as Iroh continued, "She was the mastermind behind the climbing roses on the out wall,"

"Yes… It's a pleasure to see you again Jin."

She smiles wryly, still confused by the boy she'd had a little crush on all those years ago that had never spoken to her again.

"Now come Zuko, let me show you what I've done with the place. I'd started to believe you weren't going to visit me. You've been in Ba Sing Se how long now? And this is the first I see of you?"

In the corner of the young Fire Lord's eye he sees Jin mouth _"ZUKO?"_ her eyes widened to saucers and her hand rested softly on her lips.

"I've been here a week Uncle and that whole time I've been jumping through hoops for the Earth Kingdom Councils. They said they were monitoring me for my safety but I know they still don't trust me, and that's in spite of the exorbitant amounts of compensation we're paying them." He scowls for a moment then looks back at the kind face of his uncle. "I was practically locked in my room at the Palace if I wasn't in meetings. I snuck out of a formal dinner after the final course to come see you today."

Iroh was satisfied with the response. Jin quickly excused herself to return to work.

Zuko did not miss the curtsy she rushed before returning to the kitchen.

They walked past happy customers with pastries and steaming tea cups. Iroh pushed the back door open, revealing a cosy outdoor seating area. The sun had begun its slow descent and a pleasant gold wash had painting the impenetrable city. There are a few more tables and a white gazebo in the corner. The trees have an odd shape, covering a large space with shade but with little foliage lower on the trunk.

"They're called umbrella trees, beautiful don't you think?"

Then Zuko noticed her. She was unmistakable despite the long time between meetings.

She was under the largest of the trees and sipping a tea looking perfectly at peace; blue eyes half closed as she rests the delicate teacup against her lower lip.

"Very beautiful," Zuko replied in a choked whisper.

His Uncle began rambling about his further plans before he noticed Katara sitting there and interrupted her serenity.

Zuko hadn't seen her in so long. Had it really been eight months since he'd visited her in the South Pole for her bending school's opening? She looked better now. Younger, almost.

In her purple gown she reminded him of the princess that became the moon…Sokka's first girlfriend… oh, _Yue_.

Uncle had things to do inside the shop and left the young friends to catch up. They had so much to talk about.

* * *

It was the middle of summer and sweltering by Katara's standards. The third anniversary of the end of the war upon them; the years have gone by so fast. This year the 'Gaang', as they're affectionately dubbed, were congregating in the Fire Nation. It kind of felt like going back to the beginning, she has mixed feelings about the thick, humid heat of the country. The first anniversary of the era of peace coincided with the completion of the Southern Water Tribe's refurbishment.

Now they're back where the fighting actually came to an end.

Iroh had come over from the Earth Kingdom to plan this year's festival in the capital. Caldera City would be awash with coloured lanterns and foods of around the world from what he told her in his letters.

Appa landed in the courtyard of the palace and the group of teenagers are greeted by kind guards. Zuko was nowhere in sight.

"The Fire Lord is currently in a emergency council meeting I am afraid," One of them, a round faced woman, informed them, "He extends his apologies."

The group is quiet for a moment.

"Well that blows." Toph announced. She then proceeded to walk up the steps and enter the building without skipping a beat.

"It really does," Sokka noted to Suki as she looped an arm around his and nodded. The rest of them follow Toph's lead.

Aang continued filling Katara in on the new developments in the Omashu entertainment park complex. She'd laugh as he'd act out a man's reaction to a frightened Momo landing on his face after falling from Aang's lap in the 'Mail-Coaster' at the new "Omashu Fun Park" he'd started with King Bumi (Who remained lively, at the young age of 115).

During the war Aang had been so sure of what he wanted (Katara) but afterwards, with newfound popularity and confidence he came to realise that there were other feelings out there to be experienced and despite being very attracted to her, his relationship was Katara was closer akin to family. It was a win-win situation, they'd remained close friends.

Late morning faded into afternoon and Zuko still hadn't emerged. The young war heroes had been relaxing and tried to stay cool in the sitting room with Iroh. Katara bends everyone's tea cold and Sokka informed her that it's a "handy magic trick". She bends the sweat down his back to ice. He gives a tremendous yelp and jumps a foot or so off the ground. Katara feels rather satisfied with herself.

As the time to leave for the festival approached Zuko was still M.I.A and the rest of the gaang decided to go and meet him when he gets there. The sky was warming into a beautiful golden colour as the sun began to set. Katara stays back to wait for the Fire Lord. She asks a servant if his meeting was out yet.

"It has been for a few hours Master Katara. Fire Lord Zuko is in his private office."

"Could you take me there?"

"It's in the royal wing…" the servant hesitated, he scratched his neck and tilted his head, thinking. "You're a close friend and war hero. I think we can make an exception, just this once. Just don't tell my superiors." He flashed a mischievous smile, "Follow me."

They stopped at a door. The servant, he introduced himself as Hu, indicated that behind the ornate wooden frame was the Fire Lord's Private Office.

She thanked him and gave him a gold piece for his trouble. He stutters and fumbles through a thank you before returning to his chores.

She took a breath and steeled herself. She stared at the gold fixtures on the door and glanced hesitantly at the guard watching her from the right of the frame.

"Here goes nothing…" she whispered to herself and knocks.

There is a muffled grunt as a response. It's enough for her and she opened the door.

"I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME B-" He looks up at her and she's pushing the door closed. "Katara? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," She walked in slowly and ran a finger along one of the many book and scroll shelves. "All your friends are at a festival celebrating the war you helped end."

He puts his head in his hands, one of them is bandaged and his hair is a total mess. "You should go join them Katara."

"Not without you Jerkbender." She smiled at him warmly and his heart swelled. He finally let out the tears he'd been fighting since he stepped into that war room. In an instant she's by his side.

"What happened, Zuko?"

"A group of Ozai sympathisers kidnapped the governor of the Juan Hui region. They held him for ransom in the destroyed factory on the river. The locals, believe it or not, saved him. Apparently he'd been humbled by the Painted Lady Spirit during the war and had treated them well. Still, four civilians died in the process of getting him back." He gestures to the bandage, "I don't know what to do Katara. I may have hit a wall metaphorically as well as physically. I'm trying to make my nation great again and please everyone. I had to strip the power from some very proud people, I thought it was for the best and I let them still be free. I'm putting my all into this and it's never enough!" He pushed her aside and breaths fire out of frustration. He recomposes himself then looked at her.

Really looked at her.

His golden eyes stare into her blue ones. A part of her notes that they look like twin suns and burn with equal intensity. He's clearly unhinged, wound tight and barely hanging onto his sanity.

She wiped the remnants of tears from his face. "It isn't your fault Zuko. You're doing everything you can." She smiled at him. "I'm proud of you."

He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You need a break, Zuko. You're working yourself to death." She took his hand and coaxed him out of the chair.

"Come with me to the festival." It's a request; she looked him straight in the eye and makes it with conviction and a warm smile.

"Okay," he smiled back, it might be shaky and awkward but it's a vast improvement from the clenched teeth, scowl he'd been doing earlier. The mind-numbing headache he had earlier was calmed just by looking in her eyes.

When he returned, in the small hours of the morning, in the cheesy, hopelessly romantic corner of his mind he muses that she may have just saved his life.

* * *

It was the middle of summer. A warm wind would blow through the temple which remained a comfortable temperature for all. It was the fourth anniversary of the end of the war and Aang had learnt that he could awaken the ability of airbending in some descendants of the nomads; an ancient spirit revealed he had sealed their abilities to protect them from slaughter. The young war heroes had cremated and released all the bones found in the four temples into the north wind.

It had been a long process but a rewarding one. It had taken them four years. They gathered on the anniversary of the war's end in the Southern Air Temple where Aang released the ashes of the final one.

One he recognised.

"Good-bye Gyatso. I'll see you in the next life,"

Zuko had put a steady had on his friend's shoulder as they watched the dust curl around the mountains. The rest of the gang gathered around and when Aang began to cry they enveloped him in a group hug.

The next generation of newly awakened airbenders stood in a semi-circle further back as the Avatar said his final farewells to his dear friend and father figure.

Zuko walked away later with a resounding sense of hope. The past was finally being let go, moved on from but never to be forgotten.

Ty Lee and two of her sisters had the capability to learn airbending. They all took up the opportunity to realise their potential. His friend was a natural.

He wandered the temple, enjoying having a proper break from his duties for a few days. He walked barefoot over stones and felt at peace.

Katara looked out a window, watching as a herd of sky bison flew by. Evening was approaching, illuminating the world with a warm glow. Around her was a traditional Air Nomad feast complete with music and dancing. People of all Four Nations were there dressed in the colours of another nation; Aang had made cultural acceptance the theme of the feast. All the world leaders were there alongside the families of the newly realised next generation Air Nomads.

Zuko approached her, dressed like a traditional water tribe warrior; Part of his long hair was pulled into a wolftail and a section was braided with beads.

He had Sokka's necklace on.

She knew somewhere in the room Aang was wearing the casual garb of a Fire Lord including the ridiculous pointy shoes (which were too big for him) while Sokka was telling everyone who listened how comfortable the Air Nomad Monk's robes are.

She giggled at the Fire Lord, dressed in Ty Lee's Fire Nation pink. He looked weary and, in true water tribe nature, she tactlessly asked why.

"I just got out of a rather exhausting conversation with King Bumi… I'm also traumatised by what he was wearing. What nation walks around with leaves on their heads and over their privates?" He dragged his fingers down his face like he was trying to scratch his eyes out. she laughed melodically at his melodrama.

"The Swamp Tribe do."

"Figures," He says with a good humoured sigh. "I'm not sure how much more of this partying I can deal with… Would it be alright if we just sit and talk for a little while?" He smiled hopefully at her and it's as if that's the reward; a genuine Zuko smile.

"Alright." She returned the smile and they settle by the wall. They laughed and reminisced about wartime shenanigans, snuggling closer together as the wind gets colder. Individually, they revelled in how comfortable they felt with the other. They'd been in regular contact over the past few years, forming an close bond, closer than the ones the shared with the rest of the Gaang.

She'd been by his side as fast as she could be whenever there is a rumour regarding the whereabouts of his mother.

She'd been by his side when he found her at last in a remote Earth Kingdom Village with little contact with the rest of the world.

She'd been by his side, crying with him.

He's been by her side for the tenth anniversary of her mother's death.

He held her in a tiny kayak in the middle of the freezing cold polar sea as she cried.

He'd reheat her food at dinner that night because she was lost in thought and it had gone cold.

His arm was around her waist as they sit talking at the party and it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

It's at that moment that Zuko considered that maybe it's more than friendship that he was feeling. In a second of insane courage or possibly just stupid impulsiveness he told her.

"I'd like you to come to the Fire Nation with me." He blurted it out. She was mid-sentence at the time and looeds utterly bewildered.

" _What?"_

"I mean, if you want to. You were saying that it can be monotonous in the south and teaching isn't letting you push your abilities… You miss travelling and my mother. If you come with me you can travel and see her and we'd be together…"

Before he could awkwardly try to make it sound like he wasn't admitting more-than-friendly feelings towards her she stopped him.

"Okay."

"…O-kay? You mean yes, you'll come?" His eyes lit up and he tenderly took her hand.

"But you need to promise not to break my heart and leave me all alone in the summer" She smiles at him, mimicking a voice Mai used to use with him all those years ago.

"I won't… in any of the seasons… I'd never want to break your heart"

They both blushed; she looked coyly out the window again.

Zuko marvelled and snuck a glance back at her.

He was just hanging around - well yes, he'd been working busily and trying to rebuild a nation but that all felt like idle work at this moment - and somewhere along the way he'd fallen in love. He had no idea how it'd happened but it had. If love was a pit he'd fallen in and he couldn't get out.

He'd been hanging around frustrated and lost in his office and she came to him and he fell in love.

He followed her gaze out the window.

All was golden in the sky. Both the Sun and Moon were out, shining down on them.

All was golden when the day met the night.

* * *

 **A/N Yes, I guess you'd call this a songfic. I'm pretty sure it's a song on most Zutarian's radar (it suits them so well). Writing this was like combining two of my favourite things Zutara and Panic! at the Disco (and disclaimer: I own neither). Hopefully the use of references and lines from the song isn't too clumsy.  
If you aren't familiar with the song it's "When The Day Met The Night" from their 2nd album, "Pretty. Odd."**

 **And a shout out to my lovely guest reviewer! I'm sorry for making you cry!**

 **Thank you for reading and I hope all will be golden in your skies when the day meets the night ;) x**


	10. Day 10 - Reincarnation

**A/N So this is late but better late than never I guess. Here we have some shameless fluff, hopefully this will make up for all of the crap I dragged this sweethearts through for the last few prompts. This one fits into the little continuity that I've got going for most of these (1, 3, 5 & 8 are so far the other ones that fit) but it should still be fine as a stand alone piece. I've started getting ideas for longer stories (generally AUs because I just find them so fun and interesting) but I won't start any of that until Zutara month is done (I'm currently still planning to do all 31, they just may be on the late side)**

 **I hope you're having a great day/night and happy reading :) x**

Making the Most of the Moments

It's rather rare for Zuko to have a free afternoon. He's generally stuck in meetings, overwhelmed by paperwork or on tours talking to his people and inspecting his projects first hand.

It makes him an excellent ruler.

It also makes him a rather annoying boyfriend.

Katara understands though. She doesn't push (…actively) for him to take time off and makes the most of the time they do have.

When he happened to be free on one of the most beautiful spring afternoons of the season she was utterly thrilled.

She wanted to go on a picnic. She'd insisted to help the chef make some of his favourite meals and lay out a cloth over the grass of the Royal Gardens (they had quickly become her favourite part of the palace). She brought a bottle of Earth Kingdom White Wine from the cellar in case he wanted it but asked a servant to put it on ice inside until they wanted it. She'd worn one of her nicest dresses and gotten compliments for it all morning as she'd studied with the Fire Nation doctors.

One of the positives of their relationship being public was that they could do things like this. They weren't sneaking around and having only stolen moments. Katara was becoming accustomed to the crude and disrespectful slurs being said behind her back. She didn't tell him about it much anymore, they were both under constant scrutiny and a lot of the people who originally were spreading the rumours had decided that the announcement of their relationship confirmed all their suspicions. She tried to ignore them mostly.

When Zuko arrived in the gardens he was feeling a little groggy. It had been a gruelling discussion and he'd fallen asleep twice, embarrassingly enough. Katara was already sitting there waiting for him with a basket by her side. She hadn't noticed him yet so he took the time to appreciate and memorise the way she looked.

She was in all blue. It was his favourite colour on her. It honoured her ancestors and was so beautiful and calming, just like her. She was a cool breeze in the constant, aggressive heat of Fire Nation and seeing her was finding a sliver of blue standing out amongst the red which just reinforced her relaxing effect tenfold. The thin white scar where an arrow hand punctured her shoulder a few years ago was visible. She was proud of it actually; Zuko was suspicious that she'd purposefully not healed it completely at the time. Her hair was out; rambunctious curls tumbled down her back. She had a scroll on her lap but was instead looking over the pond at the Turtle Ducklings that hatched recently.

She looked peaceful.

All Zuko could feel was love for her. He stepped on a twig and she whipped around. The smile on her face made him feel like his heart exploded. He wanted to see that face every day for the rest of his life.

"Zuko! You made it!"

He grimaced; was he really that unreliable?

She kissed him. It was soft, romantic and over all too soon. She drags him towards the blanket and basket.

"I heard General Zian saying something needed the Fire Lord's urgent attention,"

He chuckled, "He probably meant the backs of my eyelid; I feel asleep in the council meeting today."

She smirked at him, "I did tell you it was a bad idea to stay up so late."

"You did but the novel you gave me was a real page turner…"

She laughed and they sat down. She started getting the food out; with every plate he looked more and more excited.

"So what part of the story are you up to?"

He slurped his noodles into his mouth, the broth flicked up and landed on his nose (the spicy liquid frightfully close to his eye). She laughed and wiped it off as he went red.

"That part when the bounty hunter meets the old woman in a tavern."

"Oooh It's coming up to a good bit,"

"No! Don't tell me that!"

"Don't tell you what? I didn't spoil anything!"

"I expect something to happen now,"

"You should be expecting something to happen anyway, who would want to read a story where nothing happens?"

He pouted at her.

"You must've been puppy seal in a past life,"

He set aside his bowl and quirked a brow at her, "How do you figure that?"

"Your expression was totally a puppy-seal face."

"No it's not! It's a brooding sabre-toothed moose lion face."

"If that's any kind of moose-lion it's a baby one, when they're tiny and adorable."

"Are you calling the Fire Lord tiny and adorable? Wouldn't that undermine my authority?"

"Probably," she chuckled, "perhaps you should save the royal pout for informal matters."

He consciously stopped himself from pouting.

She noticed.

"I think in a past life you were an Armadillo Lion."

"ZUKO!"

"The big dangerous ones from the Earth Kingdom,"

"Are you calling me mean?"

"Maybe I'm just saying you're powerful." He said with a shrug. He had a mischievous glint in his eye. She looks at him critically, she pecked a kiss on his lips but her brows remained furrowed with distrust.

"I think you'll find I was a koalaotter,"

"You can have many past lives. If you say you were a koalaotter in one, who am I to disagree?"

"Exactly."

"Come to think of it, you'd make a fine Koalaotter."

She smiles warmly, "thank you."

"You're small and cute, from a cold climate, like the water… at you'd probably claw someone's face off if they woke you from a nap."

"Hey! And you called me the mean one!"

"I did not! I said you were powerful," He smirked at her and she shook her head.

"I think you were an Armadillo Lion,"

"Well of course I was."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you're an Armadillo Lion, I'm an Armadillo Lion."

Her other eyebrow rose.

"I think you were a cheesy romance scroll writer in a past life."

"Hey!" He tackled her into his arms and began to tickle her. She rolls off his lap and curls into the foetal position.

She laughed hysterically, rolling and tangling herself in the picnic blanket and as he smiled wickedly.

" _Sto-HAHAHAHA-p ittt,"_ she eventually gave up on her attempts to block his hands, grabbed his face in hers and kissed him hard on the mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

To put it simply, he stopped tickling her.

He pulled away, propping himself up on an arm beside her. Her lips are slightly swollen and her cheeks are flushed a soft pink. She smiled unashamedly at him.

" _Getting caught was easily the best mistake I've ever made._ " He thinks to himself.

He pressed a soft, quick kiss on her lips then pulled back again. He grazed her cheek with his thumb, staring down at her with eyes full of love.

"Can you promise me something?"

"I'm not going to bring you fire flakes every time I visit."

"No, I'm serious." He tickled her for a few moments and she coiled herself and giggled.

"What?" She's smiling so widely he worries her beautiful face will split. Her hand wrapped around his neck pulling him to rest his forehead on hers.

"Promise when we're in the spirit world or reincarnated into something else in this world… we'll find each other."

He pulls back a little to gauge her response.

"Can I really make that kind of promise?"

He chuckled against her neck and her toes curled at the warm sound reverberating on her skin.

"Just humour me,"

She laughed aloud, "I can promise you one thing for certain," she stated, sitting up and pushing him up in the process, "there is nothing that I want more at this very moment than to spend all of this life and the next like this,"

Their fingers interlaced and they rested their faces on each other's.

"We're so sappy," he commented. She laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"We bring out the worst in each other,"

"If my council heard me right now they'd have a fit,"

"It's a good thing I was declared a Princess so they can't officially overturn the match."

He guffawed, "As if I'd allow that to happen,"

They kissed again.

"This is nice, why don't we do this more often?"

Before she could have replied a rather nervous servant approached.

"I'm very sorry My Lord, Lady. Prince Sokka and Princess Suki of the Southern Water Tribe have just arrived…"

Zuko detangled himself from his girlfriend in a fraction of a second.

Despite Sokka's overall approval of his best friend and sister as a couple, public displays of affection would probably not be appreciated.

Seconds later Sokka and Suki walk into the garden, arm in arm.

Zuko wasn't fast enough to straighten his robes.

Katara hadn't even bothered. Her hair had grass in it and her dress was delightfully rumpled. She shot her brother a wry expression. Suki gave her a covert nod of approval and a look that said "You have to tell me everything later".

"You'd better tell me that Katara caught on fire and had to roll in the grass to put it out. Actually, don't tell me that. You better not had hurt my sister because you're completely inept at controlling your own element, Jerk Lord."

Zuko scratched the back of his neck and shrugged; he was blushing vibrantly, so much so that it was creeping down his neck.

"Let's talk inside shall we, It'll be more uh…comfortable." He choked out, glancing at the rumpled picnic blanket and his insanely patient girlfriend.

"I had some wine put on ice," She suggested

"WINE? What was that for Katara?"

"Drinking, Sokka," Suki teased, wheeling him back towards the palace.

Zuko held a hand out to help Katara up and picked a blade of grass from her hair, pushing it behind her ear in the process.

"Well that didn't go as planned," she jokes

"When does anything ever?"

She laughed and went onto her tip toes to kiss him.

"You two better be just packing up food out there!" Sokka called from inside, "There will be no smooshing face while I'm around. It gives me serious Oogies. It would be very unprofessional for the Fire Lord to give visiting dignitaries Oogies."

"The only dignified visitor here is Suki and I don't think she minds," Katara retorted, gathering blankets in her arms as Zuko carried the basket.

"I say go get him sister!" Suki shouted

"SUKI! How could you say such a thing?"

Katara shook her head as they stepped back inside. Zuko kissed her on the forehead. Sokka's incensed monologue still audible despite him being halfway down the long hallway 'whispering'.

"I'm related to that." Katara commented, flicking her hair back over her shoulder with a shake of her head.

"I'm related to Azula." He smirked. "I figured we just had an unspoken agreement not to judge one-another on our relatives."

"Good point."

She tilts her head up and he leans down to kiss her.

"OOOOOOOOGIES"

The couple chuckle in response.

"Do you think he was around in our other lives?"

"I don't think any incarnation of us would have the luck of him not being around."

Zuko looked at her. Despite her annoyance she's in good humour. It's clear she loves her brother immensely and regardless of the terrible timing, she's happy to see him.

He playfully nudged her and she smiled and did the same.

Yes, he wanted to see that face every day for the rest of his life and then in the next.


	11. Day 11 - Parallel

**A/N SURPRISE, I'm back! I hope you enjoy :)**

Like Us

It was spectacular to Katara how much can change in less than five years.

Five years ago she was living in the Southern Water Tribe and had never seen a live flower or grass. She was completely untrained in bending and her future was looking rather bleak.

A few months after that she'd meet Aang and Zuko and her life changed forever.

She's now living in the Fire Nation, a place she'd once only associated with evil, had seen the world and was a master bender with a future that was promising to be vibrant.

It was coming up to the fourth anniversary of the war's end. A peace summit was being held in the recently refurbished Western Air Temple with war heroes and world leaders travelling to the spot where the Avatar's fire bending training began.

Stepping off Appa and looking at the temple again made her want to cry. All her memories from the war came flooding back. Feeling Zuko's hand resting on the small of her back and guiding her forward reminded her of when she'd threatened him last time they were here.

Oh, how things had changed.

They'd been seeing each other in secret for a year and a half now.

She'd almost seen his end at the hand of his sister and she knew she'd do whatever she could to protect him.

When an assassin for once landed a blow on him she's scolded him as she healed the cut.

She looked up at him and he snuck her a private smile before putting on his impassive Fire Lord masque and collecting his bags from the bison's back. He passed hers to her as well and the couple reluctantly separated.

They'd see very little of each other privately throughout the summit. Aang had insisted that people split up by gender and slept on pallets to really get an authentic air nomad experience.

After a few days the world leaders would come to regret their choice to come to the Air Temple.

* * *

Katara stood near the fountain directing, but mostly watching, as decorations were going up for later festivities. It was the anniversary of the comet today she'd gotten up early to help the preparations. Toph called her bossy but Katara ignored it. Multi coloured bunting was strung around the inverted temple and all its pillars.

"If you want, I could pretend debris is falling from the ceiling and tackle you to the ground again."

Zuko, in full Fire Lord Regalia, smiled playfully at her. She rolled her eyes at him but leant against his arm and stared up at the decorations going up. If any foreigner walked out they'd assume that they were just old friends reminiscing. Their secret had stretched to the knowledge of their close friends and family and nowhere further. Toph had made one too many jokes at a dinner and even Sokka asked questions and Katara didn't like lying to her brother.

"You're up early,"

"I was going to say the same thing to you. I'm always up at this point of the day. You know… rising with the sun and all that,"

She laughed at him.

"They're also doing an official portrait of the world leaders this morning."

"Katara? You said you wanted to help with the cooking?" Ty Lee asked from behind them.

"Oh, yes…Sorry Zuko, can't have them starting without me."

She smiles but he sees the faint strain in her eyes indicating she'd rather hugged or kissed him. It was the awkwardness of their secret. Honestly he was both impressed and concerned by her; she was such a forthright, honest person but kept their secret amazingly well.

It made him wonder if she was keeping things from him too.

* * *

No official business was organised that day, there would be cultural displays throughout the afternoon and the music and dancing well into the night.

Zuko watched as food was brought out and people milled around. It was the first time really that he got to see everyone without them all talking to him. He still wasn't accustomed to coping with the range of open discussions that these people subject him to, although he noticed the tone and comments becoming increasingly positive with every one of the anniversary summits.

He stood near the wall, appreciating that he was for one not in stuffy formal robes; he'd gotten the chance to change after the group portrait was painted by Master Piandao. Looking around the room he noted that generally people were dressed in the colours of their native nation. The swamp people looked the most comfortable in the hot conditions in their state of undress.

What surprised him the most was the prevalence of mingling between the groups.

There were groups with green, blue and red talking calmly, sharing a joke.

When he saw Bato getting food for a rather pregnant Natsumi he couldn't help but draw a connection with them. They were older than he and Katara but they'd faced similar prejudices.

They looked so happy.

She seemed conflicted about him getting food for her, like she didn't want to be treated like she was fragile. She would whisper in a tone that suggested admonishing but had softness in her gaze that suggested gratitude. It reminded him of Katara.

Bato's nature, despite being rather different to his own, reflected a similar longing to keep her happy and comfortable. He wanted to do little things for her to make her life easier and Zuko felt a similar drive with his girlfriend.

He was offered a dumpling by one of the Air Acolytes and happily accepted. After he looked up from the plate his eyes fell on a familiar face. She was older now and dressed in finer clothing but he recognised her still.

Song.

He'd sent her and her mother ample monetary compensation for the stolen ostrich horse and had apologised profusely in a letter.

She'd written back an acceptance of the apology and a thank you. It was the last he thought he'd hear of her.

Yet there she was; the burn scar on her leg visible under her short cheongsam. She was talking to King Kuei and a few other dignitaries, standing particularly close to the Earth King while he'd rest a hand on her lower back comfortably.

"They're engaged, you know…"

He hadn't heard her approach. She smelt like a mixture of spices and wood smoke from being around cooking fires all day.

"Who?"

"Kuei and the woman beside him," she explain, "she came in to help with the canapés earlier, we had a lovely conversation. They met while he was travelling with Basco. She isn't accustomed to the finery of his lifestyle yet and being from a lower socio-economic status made the engagement awkward to get passed the council but they're happy."

"I stole an ostrich horse from her and her mother during the war,"

Katara shot him a disapproving look.

"I paid for it and apologised later," He quickly added, throwing his hands up defensively.

"good," she replied with a smirk before returning to looking at the Earth Kingdom couple. "You know they kind of remind me of us…"

"How come?"

"They got together despite disapproval. They stayed secret for a while from what she told me. She had no idea how court life worked and neither do I but she was willing to learn. He meanwhile was trying to gain control of a kingdom and learn politics all at once with a fear of getting help or listening to opinions in case they were just people trying to gain more influence."

Zuko nodded slowly, recognising the parallels. He looked at her and she smiled at him.

He'd known for a long time, perhaps since the war, but he'd ignored it. It had been easier that way. But now he couldn't help but feel overwhelming affection for her and he whispered three words they'd still never said. Perhaps they too were meant to be a secret.

"I love you."

She smiled widely and scolded herself internally for getting teary.

"I love you too."

"Really?" He asked, his eyes were wide like he couldn't believe he'd said it or that she'd said it or that any of it was really happening.

She placed a hand on his arm, consciously trying to make it seem as platonic as possible to an observer. "Really."

Zuko felt an unbelievable wave of relief and a splash of disbelief. How someone as kind, wonderful, intelligent and beautiful as Katara could love him back was unfathomable in his mind.

He smiled at her. It was crooked and unsure but she found it charming and inexplicably Zuko. She smiled back.

He gained some confidence, glancing around he noticed no one was paying them much attention.

He leant over to her, whispering in her ear, "So… do you want to find somewhere quiet and make out?"

She let out a laugh and looked at him with an amused sidelong smirk.

"Lead the way Fire Lord,"

With that they crept around the now skeletal kitchen staff and further into the temple. Once they were out of the public eye he took her hand and they'd giggle, slinking around in the dark, with the unabashed excitement of too young people in love.

 **A/N Well hello, long time (a week) no upload. I had a hectic week (busy weekend, receiving my results and so on) and have been battling a bit of writer's block. I'm not entirely happy with these ones but I feel a tad guilty for leaving this so long. I'll be uploading Day 12: Patience today as well (I find it rather fitting that I made you all wait for it haha). This is a Part One of Two (The sequel being for Day 15) and falls into the little continuity I've devised for these but hopefully can stand alone aswell.**

 **In regards to Zuko's worry Katara is hiding things from him - I believe that she'd be really got at concealing her feelings to protect others (which she does throughout the series) but with Zuko she respects that he's strong enough and understands her to the degree that he can accept her along with her demons. Zuko just doesn't quite know that. Which brings me on to me second point. They've been dating for over a year and hadn't said "I love you". To me I think these two both have some abandonment issues and are terrified to put themselves out there in that way and would rather put others first. Much like the break up of-sorts featured in Day 5: Wedding the fact that the relationship was mostly a secret and took place sordidly in shadows it didn't quite feel real making the prospect of loving one another almost seem like a wonderful, crazy, dream.**

 **In other news I saw the Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens today**

 **Hope where ever you are you're happy, healthy and safe x  
**


	12. Day 12 - Patience

**A/N The story referenced is a Norwegian Fairytale (read it at SurLaLune Fairy Tales) I felt like it kind of fit into the story and whilst this may still make sense with no knowledge of it, I'd recommend giving the story a read so you feel in the loop.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy x**

Plain and Simple

If you asked Katara she'd tell you that she's a very patient person.

If you asked Zuko he'd blatantly disagree.

It wasn't that she was unable to be patient; she just seemed to prefer not to be unless it benefits her.

Similarly, Katara had somehow formed the opinion that she was subtle…

* * *

It was a calm day in the palace which, to be honest, was a total blessing for Zuko considering dramas about the colonies making a comeback after the birth of Kuei's heir. Zuko hadn't budged and the new nation that was Aang's pet project of sorts continued. After that success Zuko had believed his council would ease off but they hadn't. It was only after a closer-than-usual call with an assassin (the frequency of which were decreasing steadily).

Katara used this as an excuse for them to visit Ember Island. His nervous courts were happy to see him out of the palace particularly with his girlfriend. Despite their initial reservations about the pair and after the Fire Lord had threatened any naysayers would be punished they'd started becoming increasingly pushy that the relationship moved along.

Zuko was 20 now. There was no Fire Lady and no heir. He'd been on the throne for 5 years; it was about time he set an example of a stable home for his nation.

Katara seemed to have begun sharing these sentiments.

"It's coming up to our 3rd anniversary Zuko. Third. That's 3 years of us being together. Wow…" then she'd shoot him a pointed look and play with her mother's necklace.

He'd raise an eyebrow at her and she'd blush, pull the strangest contorted expression and walk away. She'd never seemed more like her brother in her life.

* * *

She'd managed to convince him, using her best puppy seal eyes, to have a three day holiday on the Resort Island which could be buffered by a day on either side working with the community and surveying the environment and what was required for it to improve.

As their ship approached she'd note how romantic Ember Island was, especially without her brother and his _wife_ there with them.

She'd booked them seats at the theatre on the second night of their visit. The Ember Island players were putting on a musical rendition of the "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" myth.

At dinner beforehand she'd organised for them to go to a restaurant. She'd gotten the Komodo chicken despite his repeated warning that it was very spicy.

"I know Zuko, but they serve it with this lovely yoghurt if you ask. In my opinion the fiery spices marry well with the cool yoghurt."

Zuko let it slide. She seemed convinced that he was none-the-wiser and he kind of enjoyed watching her various attempts to bring marriage into his awareness. She'd play the 'restaurant game' where she'd point out tables, as subtly as she could really and ask him or suggest herself their story.

"Those two," she said pointing to a young couple around their ages, "are recently engaged and going to the theatre after their meal."

"Well I think they're co-workers discussing the current boom in honey pear prices."

She screwed her nose up a bit, "I don't think so, they're too familiar for co-workers."

"old school friends then?"

She sighed, once again convinced that her boyfriend was oblivious.

Which, usually, he was. But with all the pressure from his council, insinuations and his own personal desire, marriage was on his mind.

* * *

At the end of the play, which was unnecessarily musical in Zuko's opinion, Katara intertwined their fingers and commented on the how wonderful the wedding was.

"You hated it Katara. You spent the entire first act complaining about her being practically sold off."

"Yes and I stand by that. But the wedding was lovely."

"It wouldn't have been so complicated if she'd been a bit more patient," The Fire Lord pointed out

"Well, he should've told her beforehand."

"He did tell her beforehand. He told her that she'd doom them both if she spoke to her mother alone."

"He should've trusted her and respected her as an equal by telling her everything about the spell earlier."

"It was a spell, he probably couldn't have told her anyway. That's usually how they work."

"It's a story Zuko, they can work however you like"

She rolled her eyes and mumbled that had to be make-believe because it took far less than three years for the couple to get married.

"What was that?"

"Huh?"

"You said something…"

"Oh… I just said that the special effects were decent…"

She was a terrible liar.

They both knew it.

He just chuckled, kissed her on the forehead and began to leave the theatre.

* * *

That evening Katara had reprimanded herself as she ran a comb through her hair. They were still young there wasn't really a rush or anything.

She just loved him; the way his face would lights up when he saw her or talked about improvements in the Fire Nation or his Uncle. She loved the way he'd scrunch his face up and pinch the bridge of his nose when he was frustrated. That he'd open doors for her, despite there being servants, because he liked to do little things for her. She loved how passionate he was and how determined. She loved that he always treated her like an equal and took her opinions seriously. She loved his smile and his warm chuckle.

She wanted to see his face and make him laugh every day for the rest of her life.

She wanted to be able to go on romantic holidays without the possibility of the Northerners shaming her family at the prospect of them behaving dishonourably. She wanted people to stop saying she was a power hungry hussy with little true care for him.

Most of all she wanted to help him. She wanted to take some of his burdens as Fire Lord. She wanted to have the power to walk into his meeting as it ticked into its forth hour and demand a recess. She'd caught his love for the nation, which in some ways she loved because it was so like him; wounded but still proud, determined and willing to work hard and try.

She blew out her candle and got into bed. It was dark and she was half asleep but she registered the sound of the opening and then closing again. Her sheets pulled and then her waist was wrapped in pleasant toasty warmth. It was winter in the Fire Nation making it agreeably warm during the day with a cold sea breeze particularly prevalent from dusk.

He'd be gone by the time she woke up in the morning (he was always up before her) and there was never any funny business. She mused to herself that, like in the story, she was lying beside an unbelievably handsome prince (Fire Lord actually). She loved him; it wasn't like his court was trying to marry him to someone else at this point. She decided it was best that she just enjoy the way things were and be grateful that he's safe and healthy.

He pressed a soft kiss into her hair and settled in, spooning her; a smile resting on his mouth as he revelled in the freedom that came with the vacation. Despite being reluctant beforehand as he hated to leave work undone and had a pessimistic tendency making him believe the moment he'd take a break there would be another fiasco that would cut it short, he was really enjoying having more quality time with his girlfriend. Her pushing for a proposal was amusing to him because it was already being planned. He'd enlisted Toph to make her a Fire Opal Engagement Ring. She was right. 3 years was a big deal, it's exciting and he thought, as he inhaled the scent of her shampoo, that he'd pamper her tomorrow on their anniversary. He'd already gotten her a hair piece and ancient Southern Water scroll but she deserved a massage, a day at the beach and breakfast in bed.

He wasn't going to ask her to marry him because his court wanted him to or because she'd been hinting at it for months. He wanted to ask her to marry him because he loved her; plain and simple.

He wanted the proposal to be as special and beautiful as she is.

So she'd have to be patient.

 **A/N Hi, If you're reading this thank you. I've uploaded two today (partially as a thank you and also because they were written and uploading assuages my guilt). Be sure to check out Chapter/Day 11 and then go back and read Day 8:Lullaby because that one is honestly my favourite and I'm actually happy with it.**

 **I'm sorry If these babies are a bit OOC.**

 **I hope you're enjoying Zutara month, It's now a week until Christmas but I will continue trying to catch up with these. Feel free to leave a review, they're very motivating. I'm sorry these last two are so short but I've got a bit of writers block and I've been super busy.**

 **Thanks again for reading, be sure to check out the chapter before this as it was uploaded at the same time and enjoy your holiday season x**


	13. Day 13 - Mythology

**A/N Hello again, you're only getting one this time but I'm pretty certain its the length of the last two put together so hopefully that makes up for it. I'm vaguely concerned that this one is less Zutara-centric which might be a tad off putting (they do have some nice interactions around the middle which I'll just let you read rather than building them up). I really struggled to write this one and I got a bit frustrated with it so it probably isn't as proofread as it ought to be. Sorry! Anyway I'll shut up for a little while and let you read, tell me how you feel about the less relationship centric Zutara that's kinda going on.**

 **I hope you enjoy xo  
**

Heal the World

Perhaps it's the fact she is an actual princess from a faraway land.

Or perhaps it's just because her eyes are blue.

Katara finds during her routine visits to orphanages that the children are drawn to her. She's different and they can sense that (she'd talk with Zuko about how forthright they are and he'd tell her that children have no filter and look forlorn. She'd prod at him later until he'd confess the story behind it.) but at some point they must've decided it was good different. Children were far more malleable than adults. The younger they were the less they'd been indoctrinated by the propaganda of the war years and less afraid of her.

A small boy, Kwan, was particularly fond of her. He was three and a half, born after the war had ended. His father had passed during a tropical storm, he was a fisherman, and his mother had been killed during a mugging in a poor district of the Caldera. Kwan wasn't even 1 yet. He was staying with his aunt when his mother was taken but because she was a war widow and already had 4 children she couldn't afford to keep him. Instead she brought him to the orphanage with the best reputation in the Fire Nation.

Established in one of Fire Lord Zuko's first actions as leader, the LADY URSA HOME FOR CHILDREN was built. With the help of War Hero and Earth Bending Master, Toph Beifong, he completed rigorous interview processes before selecting the most compassionate, honest and accepting staff possible. Rumour has it, before the staff were selected there were 30 children, some recent and others longer term orphans from destroyed or out of date establishments, living in the Fire Palace's nursery and guest wings. Although it was never confirmed some of the councilmen would note the sound of singing, children's laughter and the presence of rough drawings on parchment left around during a month in the early days of the new leadership.

Katara would go fairly regularly to visit the Lady Ursa Home and others like it since their engagement. She'd taken on some of the roles usually undertaken by a Fire Lady, in the health and education sectors, but was also highly involved in most other decisions with Zuko seeking her opinions not out of obligation or because she'd complain that he wouldn't tell her things but because he valued her insights and alternate point of view. She'd come to be accepted among his court, despite them being so cruel when they first discovered the relationship that regardless of the truly moving address she made to the people she was forced to return to the South for a few months. She was also the Fire Lord's unofficial speech proof reader.

Whenever she'd visit the Lady Ursa home Kwan would greet her with a toothy smile and a hug. She'd make a bubble which Kwan would chase, giggling sweetly. Of course he was not the only child in the home. The first 5 minutes of her visits were usually with him then he'd ghost her, holding her hand with small sticky fingers, for the rest of the day as she'd talk to the other children.

On one particular visit she was faced by an unfamiliar face. Kwan was getting fussy when Katara saw the girl, pulling on her arm in the opposite direction.

"Sorry Kwan, sweetheart, go play with the others," she bends to his level and he made a face, "I'll find you later."

He mumbles reluctant approval and toddled away to the toys.

Hua, one of the carers that reside in the orphanage, approached the Princess, placing a hand on the water bending master's arm. "She's a recent addition to our little family here." The worker was rather soft looking for a native Fire Nation woman. Her lines were rounder than the sharp angles their people were known for. "Her name is Shula. She's about 14. She tends to keep to herself. We do know both her parents are in the spirit world and they passed during the war but we don't know when. She was transferred here after she ran away from the old orphanage in Fire Fountain City for the third time. Word is she was wandering around alone before that..."

Katara nodded and decided to approach the girl. She looked younger than fourteen and older simultaneously. She's notably small and gaunt, making her seem like a small child. Her brown eyes looked seasoned and troubled which was enhanced by the heavy bags beneath them. Her slender shoulders were hunched over as she sits cross legged on the floor staring at something in her lap. Her skin tone was darker than the average Fire Native but her bone structure and sharp nose were archetypal.

"Hi there," Katara offers her a small smile and bent at the knees so she won't feel patronised, "My name is Katara, what's yours?"

The small girl's eyes lock onto Katara's and narrow intensely; she starts to ball a fist and sparks flicker from it. There is something the Fire Lady to-be recognises in the girl's eyes.

Flaming anger.

She saw it in Zuko's eyes every time she saw him before he swapped sides in the war.

From one glance she could see the resentment and possible hatred emanating from the adolescent.

She saw that in her own eyes at that age when she looked at her reflection.

Katara tried to ignore the fact the kid was giving her major stink eye and reattempted to start a conversation. The girl had hidden whatever she'd been looking at under her skirt and was evidently not at all interested in speaking to the young woman in blue.

After almost ten minutes, most of which was spent in a deadlock staring contest, Katara started to get up.

"You'll talk to me eventually." She asserted. If she was honest with herself Katara would admit that the rejection and ignoring hurt. It felt like when she first moved to the Fire Nation all over again. It felt like every second shop owner would send her away or charge her double because they lost a son, a daughter, a parent, a grandparent, a cousin or a friend in the war.

As the ambassador walked away, tense, she heard faint whispering.

"It's ok Lady … didn't become a sea monster…"

Katara peaked over her shoulder and Shula was quick to her feet and walking in the opposite direction. She was taller than she'd looked but also seemed even more malnourished. She remembered being that age and angry and terrified of the world. She noted to herself to talk to Zuko about having the orphanage in Fire Fountain City reviewed and renovated.

The Water Tribe Ambassador (she had refused to give up that title just because she was affianced to the Fire Lord) returned to the other children. They congregated on a carpet with a design representing all four nations, sitting and chatting amongst themselves excitedly in anticipation of story time with the war hero princess. This was a part of her visits' routine, 'story time'.

She read them an ancient legend about Wan Shi Tong, the spirit had a bad attitude even how many hundreds of years earlier it was written. The story told of the power of knowledge. She recalled when she first read it, finding it amusing that even the procurement of an education needed to be sweetened by the idea of it making them more powerful for them to take an interest.

Shula sat at the back of the group throughout, her body turned so she was half facing Katara but she paid no attention to the princess. When they did make eye contact, albeit briefly, there was an immense sense of resentment and blame in the girl's eyes that ran a chill down Katara's spine.

This would exist in the back of the young woman's mind for the rest of the evening.

* * *

Katara had dinner at the palace that night, which was happening with increasingly frequency as both she and Zuko were so busy and wanted to work out a way to make sure they still saw each other.

There are some things she couldn't quite decide her attitude towards.

Was it a good thing or a bad one that her fiancée knew, without her saying anything or doing anything she was consciously aware of, that something had upset her? Was it right or wrong for her to off load her troubles onto the beautiful man that was already carrying the weight of a nation on his back?

She loved him for it though, the way he fussed over her. It felt like she hadn't been fussed over since before her mother died, so the last (close to) 4 years that she and Zuko had been seeing each other was him making up for every time she was forced to be strong and brave without leaning on anyone else. To be fair, she was doing the same for him as well.

So she told him. She told him there was a 14 year old girl who was terrified, alone and full of fear and hatred. She told him despite the chills and the irritation her interactions with her were creating she was glad that the girl was in that orphanage, with Hua and all the other lovely people and kids.

Zuko would hold her hand as she struggled to vocalise the strange connection she felt with the quiet orphan.

"She said something about a sea monster…not _to_ me but-"

Zuko's lips formed a straight line which made Katara's brown furrow.

"Alright Zuko, you know something. What does it mean?"

She looks wild, her hair has been systematically falling out of her bun and her loopies have loosened with half of one completely out and hanging limply by her face. Her hands come to rest on her hips. Her blue doe eyes stare at him unblinkingly and he brushes her hair behind her ear.

"It means she probably knows something about the Siege of the North… when Aang merged with the Ocean Spirit. Also, and you have to understand 'Tara there was propaganda about water benders over that 100 years. Your people seemed so different to ours, in ways primitive. The idea of someone being able to put out someone's fire or freeze them is kind of terrifying. They didn't even know about all the other incredible abilities you have." _or terrifying ones_ , he left it unsaid but she heard it. "It's the Fire Nation so I guess it's natural that we have an acute fear of drowning or freezing to death. Those soldiers that day… that's what they did…"

Katara frowned and felt remorse wash over her.

"Do most people still think water benders are evil?"

"Katara, sweetheart, their Fire Lady is going to be a Water Bender. Do you honestly believe 6 years after the war that nothing at all has changed? I've been, as have the leaders of all the other nations, working on encouraging acceptance and understanding between the different peoples. 85% of the Nation wasn't Ozai sympathetic anyway, most were more loyal to my uncle and just followed my father because not doing so had such dire consequences," he unconsciously, or perhaps it is on purpose - it's hard to tell, runs his hands through his hair on the left side dragging it back so his scar was in full view. Katara planted a soft kiss against the warped skin.

"I love you." She says simply and he smiled at her.

"I know. I also know it hasn't been easy…"

"No, you stuttered your way through anything remotely flirtatious for months before we got together…"

His face fell and he pointed a finger at her. "That isn't what I was talking about,"

She winked at him and he hung his head,

"I thought you said the stuttering was cute…" he mumbled, the pout he wore was audible.

"It was," she laughed; he elevated his head, rolling it to one side and raising a bow at her. His long hair was out and swinging faintly as she looked at him. "It was also worth it," she continues, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She shifts herself closer to him, "all of it. The arguments, the disapproval, the discrimination, the judgement, the awkwardness… all the things we faced, made us stronger." She pressed a kiss to the juncture of his neck.

They were alone in the dining room; after the chocolate fondue incident a few months earlier the guards started posting themselves on the outside of the room and the kitchen servants would sign confidentially and obliviousness agreements before working the dining room when the exotic Princess was dining with the Fire Lord.

Dessert was left on the table and the wait servant quickly left, not daring to look at his monarch who was currently enjoying the close company of his fiancée as she kissed down his neck, seated in his lap. The servant _didn't_ look to see the vibrant red that had crept onto the Fire Lord's face and down his neck (he was blending in with his casual shirt). He certainly _didn't_ notice the significant increase in temperature in the room.

It probably took the couple fifteen minutes to realise that dessert was served, in that time 3 servants have checked in and _not_ witnessed the royal couple making out. They ate coyly, stealing blushing glances over moon peach cobbler.

Zuko revelled in her ability to make him feel like a teenager again.

Katara revelled in his ability to distract her completely, without fail.

Once he'd calmed down again and stopped looking flushed (just before she is about to leave for her apartment), he asks if he's at all helped her work out how to reach the little orphan girl.

Katara nodded

She knows what story she is going to tell the children the next time she's at the orphanage.

* * *

Katara understands the fear of the alien. She had a relatively sheltered upbringing, albeit that was mostly unintentionally and highly related to the location of her homeland. Of course she always faced it with interested and determination.

When Aang briefly attended school in the Fire Nation during the war he brought back home (to the cave) a book of the nation's folktales and spirit stories. In it she discovered the Legend of the Painted Lady, a kind and wonderful spirit of the Jang Hui river. In the times of the spirits the river thrived and the Painted Lady coloured the crops of the villagers and the scales of the fish. She was known to protect the village as long as they cared for her. The Painted Lady featured in many legends. In the earliest one the Blue Spirit was fleeing a great battle and almost drowned in her river. She fell in love with him (because in these sorts of stories love at first sight is crucial) and when she couldn't save him she painted herself with his blood and he revived (because he was a spirit and it was a story) with the purpose to protect life. Katara had found it compelling and enlightening; no wonder the Fire Nation was full of psychos, even their children's stories were morbid.

Anyway, when Katara went to the orphanage it was not to read out a legend.

Kwan greeted her at the door once again, this time with a flower from the yard. He declared undying love for her and asked her to leave the Fire Lord and marry him… in his three-year-old chattering it was positively adorable. She took the bluebell, that he said was beautiful like her eyes, kissed him on the head and said with a chuckle that she was a bit old for him but Jing, a little girl close to his age, might like it. He was reluctant but eventually took his flower to the fair, raven haired toddler building a tower of blocks.

Shula was hiding somewhere according to Hua.

"Oh, not from you your majesty, the children were playing hide and explode."

"Just Katara, please Hua. Thank you regardless." The Princess said with a wry smile.

Despite spending quite a bit of time helping the poor 'it' child find the other kids, Katara couldn't find Shula.

Eventually story time was announced and the children flooded into the library of the orphanage. Katara didn't take a book from the shelf or a scroll. She simply sat down on the story stool in her red dress and looked at the eager, confused little faces.

"I won't be reading you a story today," there was a collective whine from her audience, "instead I'll be telling you something that I did during my time here during the war." There were some surprised glances from the staff but Katara didn't skip a beat.

"This is the story of how I dressed up as the Painted Lady to save a town… and met the spirit herself."

With that Katara told the story. The kids laughed and gasped when appropriate. She saw the faces they pulled at the idea of a two headed fish. It occurred to her, as she begun talking about destroying the factory, that it may not be the most entirely appropriate audience. She spoke about how water bending heals. So instead of 'destroying the Fire Nation Factory' she 'Used bending to cleanse and heal the river from the bad pollution'. She spoke about helping people being crucial to being a water bender like creating light and warmth were to being a fire bender.

By the end of her story the children were laughing (apparently the fact she'd been lying and dying Appa's tongue purple was hilarious). It seemed as though the laughter was surrounding her as a sweet melodic giggle seemed to emanate from behind her. When she turned there was no one.

It was puzzling.

The laughing stopped and the children dissipated.

As quiet once again befell the library Katara sat in one of the chairs and enjoyed it. She watched as a cupboard door pushed open and little Shula got out.

She had a old painted lady doll in her hand.

She stopped when she noticed Katara.

Their eyes met.

Confusion.

 _Acceptance._

"I thought you were evil before." She said simply. "You people took my Mumma away in the North Sea. Then you attacked on the day of the eclipse and my father was injured and died shortly after. I never understood then. I saw the Water Tribe as to blame. But you're a person. It isn't like you wanted bad things to happen, they just did because that's what the world was like. You want to help heal the world."

She holds the doll close to her heart and Katara had a feeling it is, to this girl, what her necklace is to her.

"You're like the Painted Lady. Legends say she was a child on the moon too." With surprising boldness Shula walks straight up to Katara and draws a crescent moon on the future Fire Lady's forehead. Then she walked away with a shy smile.

Katara watched her go with a sense of accomplishment. If she could convince a girl who had lost it all, that she and her people, weren't bad then there was hope for the world yet.

 **A/N So there it is, Day 13 posted on the 22nd, not sure what I'm going to do once the month has actually officially ended... Will you guys be interested in reading these into January?**

 **Not super happy with this one, I feel like it isn't the best example of my writing but I really wanted to get something else done for you guys. Christmas is now 3 (practically 2) days away, I'm working the next couple of days before it and Boxing day but maybe I'll gift you guys with an update. Sorry they're getting so sporadic but I'm trying, a chapter a day is really difficult.**

 **And a HUGE shout out to my (I assume they're all recent ones were one person) guest reviewer(s ?). Your support and kindness made me really want to write this fast but alas it wasn't meant to be. Honestly the reviews completely made my entire day and had me all excited until I sat infront of an empty page with a loose idea and no clue how to tackle it. I'm so glad you're not finding them OOC and to answer your questions Star Wars was really good, it had a very similar feel to the original series but with better SFX and new characters. Personally Rey's accent kinda bothered me a little and I found it a tad predictable but it was still highly entertaining. Also BB-8 is just adorable and it's probably worth seeing just to watch that cute little droid roll around and beep.**  
 **I've got delightfully long holidays currently as I just finished high school! I'm not really doing anything much with it; enjoying myself, relaxing and juggling a part time job and social life. I recently got all 10 seasons of Friends as a present from a friend and have a heap of reading to catch up on (I read Eleanor & Park today, highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a sort of gritty romance with offbeat characters). I'd like to include in this reply PLEASE MAKE AN ACCOUNT! I'd love to be able to chat easier and not just ramble pointless things about my personal life that most of you couldn't care less about.**

 **Anyway where ever you are in the world, whether it's holiday time or not, I hope you're having a great December and that you enjoy these last few weeks of 2015 xo**


	14. Day 14 - Royalty

**A/N Merry Christmas Everyone! Well actually it's about 20minutes after Christmas here but it still is for most of the world so I'll go by your time. And as this is so late, maybe consider it a gift of sorts to you lovely people that want to read it (even if it isn't Christmas for you either), it also hasn't been adequately proofread so I'm sorry. I'm working tomorrow but I plan to update soon with a fixed, grammar edited version.**

 **Thank you to everyone who is reading this little project of mine and your patience. December is always a busy time of year and I'm not terribly organised.**

 **I'd like to put a thank you in particular to meadow for your review, it means so much to me and I'm so flattered that you like the way I've written these and the ideas. I'm trying my best not to always fall into troupes, let me know how that's going haha. I think it's important to try to keep perspective, the world is all rebuilding and I'm glad you liked the last chapter's references to culture and propaganda. I find Katara is a bit more of a modern woman and while it is hard for her to fit in with the Fire Nation people because of the war, it is also hard for her to fit in with her own culture, and I'll leave it at that for now because this is the topic of the day.**

 **I hope you enjoy xx**

But She's Always a Peasant to Me

Zuko received a letter in mid-spring regarding the progress in the south. Of course the letter was from Sokka so the actual business side of things took a back seat.

Although he saw Aang more often, Zuko felt a stronger affinity with Sokka. They were closer in age but more than that they had surprisingly similar outlooks. Zuko also was rather fond of Suki so receiving a message from him usually updating him on what was going on with her in perhaps too much detail.

The paragraph tacked onto the end of the letter regarding actual politics and such, divulged that Katara had been selected as their Fire Nation ambassador and a former Northerner, Keanu, the ambassador for the Earth Kingdom.

Katara.

He felt like he hadn't seen her in ages.

It had been a while; she'd visited fleetingly maybe eight months ago. She'd stayed three days in the palace and used it as a base camp to aid the healers in local hospitals and help rebuild still damaged homes.

It had been just after a terrible wet season and riots regarding food shortages.

She'd travelled his country for some time and send him frequent updates via letter.

Last he'd heard from her (perhaps a month or so earlier) she was in the Northern Water Tribe completing her healing training.

And now she'd be moving to the Fire Nation. Zuko wouldn't be surprised if she'd only been in the South Pole for 4 months in the last whole year.

When Katara arrived she was paler than he remembered. Perhaps it wasn't the right thing to open with. Maybe he should've said "hi" or "Welcome to The Fire Nation" or "It's good to see you." But no, to expect any of those is expecting too much.

"You look pale. Are you sick?"

Of course had she been sick she would've been the most beautiful sick person he'd ever seen in his life. She was obviously shocked but he was grateful that most of the time he said dumb things like that it was to her and their good friends.

"I just spent quite some time in the North Pole. They haven't been getting too much sun up there." She smiled at him and he's already super red and tongue tied so he just nods in response.

He's so glad to see her though. The last friend to visit him was Aang and that had been exhausting.

She was there indefinitely. He found that immensely comforting.

* * *

Invitation to the unveiling of the finally completed renovations of the Southern Water Tribe arrived at the beginning of summer.

Katara had been in the Fire Nation as an ambassador for 3 months at the point and already making a difference in the attitudes of his council. She was staying in a guest suite of the palace a hallway down from the royal wing. Their friendship had drastically improved (or maybe re-improved - they were recapturing the bond they had during the war) in that time frame and Zuko was becoming dependant on her to remind him to have a life outside of being a Fire Lord too.

Her first night she learnt of his reoccurring nightmares and since then she'd be quick to his side to comfort him and pull him out of his personal trauma.

Her first week he learnt of her being harassed by his people and since then he'd increased his counter propaganda and introduced stronger anti-discrimination laws.

The unveiling would be combined with the official celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the war ending. Leaders from all around the world would be congregating in the city (or he assumed it would be a city now) that was created from the sleet left behind 100 years of being trodden on in the war.

Katara was in the gardens when Zuko told her about it, she'd had a long day in the hospital and was lying on the grass on her back. Her hair was splayed out in a mess of chocolatey curls with blades of vibrant green grass cutting out through it.

Her eyes were closed and Zuko almost felt guilty for stirring her; she seemed so tired.

She laughed when he told her she was invited.

"I didn't think I'd need an invite, I mean it's my home."

She rolled onto her side and propped herself up on an elbow to look at him.

They were really good friends.

So he wished that he didn't notice how beautiful she looked with tousled hair and an easy smile.

He also wished that he wasn't so prone to blushing because there he was doing it again.

It got worse when she laughed at him.

Which she did…

Often.

"It would be like you inviting Iroh here. He knows that at any moment he could waltz in and you'd welcome him. No invite required." She'd gesticulate with her free hand. He liked the way she did that. It was like she had so much excitement and passion for what she was saying that it was overflowing into her arm movements.

"I was just telling you it was on..." He kicks aimlessly at a clump of grass.

She started to stand. When she smiled it was a tired one, understandably as she was half asleep in the sunshine when he found her, but it's so brilliantly warm. Her kindness radiates from her and he's glad she's there and feels comfortable enough with him to be like this.

"Thank you _Fire Lord_ ," She said it playfully, as if it's a nickname rather than his title.

He likes the way she says it.

"I must be pretty special if the most _powerful_ man in the world is my message boy," she faltered a little mid sentence but recovered well.

"I'm pretty sure that's Aang's title, can't take it away from the kid."

She smiled again but it was different this time. Like she knew something he didn't.

He knew because he'd seen that kind of expression on almost everyone he's ever known.

"Your Majesty, Ambassador, Dinner is served in the main dining hall."

Zuko offered her an arm, it felt like the appropriate thing to do. It was exercising the good manners his mother had drilled into him at a young age.

No more than that.

* * *

Even with the benefit of foresight, Zuko still wouldn't have imagined the events to go as they had.

He couldn't believe that, after all the excitement and wistfulness Katara had about returning home while they were travelling, the first day after their arrival she spent it crying to him on the ship.

Hakoda had thought it would be a wonderful surprise for her that she'd be declared a Princess of the Southern Water Tribe.

He thought she'd be happy.

He hadn't 100% pleased with her being an ambassador but there were so many pros and so few cons and she'd been so excited in her letters.

The Fire Nation offered women freedoms that, despite his more liberal attitudes in comparison to his Northern counterpart, he found unbelievable. He hated that the little girl he'd seen so little of when he was away from home now spent so little of her time at home. Being a princess made her an even more eligible bachelorette (even though Sokka was next in line as Chief).

Perhaps suggesting she start thinking about settling down, back in the south, to take her place around the cooking fires as a wife wasn't the best idea after not seeing your daughter for almost 6 months.

The fact she was going to be declared a princess wasn't the only issue.

It was everything.

Back on the ship Zuko and Katara had tried to play Pai Sho. Neither was particularly endowed in the way of tactics or patience trivially so eventually they just started flicking the pieces at each other. Katara ended up getting one down his billowy sleeve and Zuko went utterly red when he managed to get one to ricochet off her chin down her top. In the process Katara told him stories about home. She told him about how they'd all climb under Gran Gran's sleeping furs together on the coldest nights in winter and rotate who was on the outer edges (inspired by the behaviour of the otter penguins. She told him about the small tight knit community and how her Gran Gran practically single handed-ly stopped everyone one starving when all the men left.

Despite the increasingly cold temperatures she was still gloriously warm company. She'd hum around the ship; offer to help the ship hands and chefs. More than both of those she offered Zuko conversation and companionship. More often than not they'd sit in his office (which an adviser had insisted on him having in his private ship), with a fire crackling creating the only ambient noise and just read. Different books, silently, together.

He was looking forward to their arrival because she was. He was slightly nervous to reacquaint with her Grandmother after last time but apparently, according to Katara, Gran Gran believed that the Zuko she first met (getting close to 3 years earlier) was _"in desperate need of a new haircut, a hug and a kick in the pants_ ".

Katara would then proudly state that he'd gotten all of those things so her Gran'd have to be in some way happy. Then she'd rest her head on his shoulder and giggle and, despite Zuko perhaps not totally enjoying the prospect of his former style and attitude choices being mocked, he'd smile and let out a silent chuckle.

They'd been reading by the fire, him on the loveseat with his feet on the coffee table and her lounging on the same loveseat with her feet on him, when Admiral Jee (apparently having trouble with authority figures helps a man avoid one of the greatest loses in Fire Nation Naval history), who was the Captain of their vessel, announced that the Southern Water Tribe was now in view and arrival would be in 2 hours.

She'd let out an adorable squeak of excitement, gotten up in a hurry and grabbed her parka which hung by the door before briskly making her way towards the deck. Zuko picked up her book (which she'd haphazardly flung in the process) and placed a marker in it before grabbing his own parka, a burgundy sort of colour that came from trying to dye something blue red, and following her out of the ship.

When he caught up she was standing on the bow, wrapped in blue and fur, motionless, staring at the emerging settlement in the distance.

The fact it was even visible from such a distance was a testament to how much the village had grown.

The closer they got, the more detail was visible…and the more disheartened Katara seemed to be.

Though there weren't the huge walls encircling it like those still erect in the north, there was a harbour city look to the place. The snow glowed and there was glare from the Fire Nation steel doors and frames apparent in the sun. There was a dock made of ice, huge to house the large trade vessels that docked there. Sokka's old watch tower was long gone, replaced with a low building with a tower for the same purpose. There were sentries posted, spaced evenly and standing ramrod in brilliant blues. There were tiers of buildings, across the tundra and crowds of people milling about.

They were arriving early; most of the other foreign dignitaries weren't arriving for another 2 days. The only other overseas ship in the dock was an Earth Kingdom one that Zuko assumed brought with it Toph, his Uncle or possibly the other ambassador.

On their way up to the Chief's house (which was far smaller than the palace Arnook lived in but still incredibly spacious), guided by a person dressed like a tribe member that Katara didn't recognise at all, she mumbled under her breath, _"everything has changed"_.

She was greeted by her father at the door. Zuko got to apologise to her Grandmother in person. Katara and Hakoda disappeared to talk, Sokka was apparently in the market with Suki, and Pakku was teaching so Zuko sat with Kanna, awkwardly. When the sound of yelling and possibly crying came from the room the father and daughter had gone into Kanna offered to teach the Fire Lord to cook her 5 flavour soup.

Her surprised even himself with how quickly he said yes.

* * *

"So, Fire Lord, they want to name me Princess of the Peasants." Her voice was dark and humourless and he cringed at the term he once referred to her with. "Princess Katara. That's all I'll be referred to as. No Master Katara, Sifu Katara, Ambassador Katara because my abilities, teaching and political worth are unimportant when I'm a woman in the water tribe…"

They were sitting on the bow of the ship but with their backs to the city. It was late summer but it still was cold and she'd been wise enough to grab a fur as she'd stormed out, dragging him with her. She'd been crying, talking about how everything had changed and that they were more Northern Water Tribe than anything else these days. Never mind that her father hadn't succumbed officially to any of the other original traditions of their people.

"My sister was a princess and that didn't stop her being formidable…"

Katara guffawed and sniffed simultaneously and wiped her tears with her sleeve. "It's different here. A princess here is just a political pawn. They have even less freedom than a normal woman…"

"It isn't like you're not still going to be a master, sifu and ambassador…"

"But for how long? How long until I'm downgraded to a trophy then married off for some political purpose and then expected to give up myself to be a _good_ wife? After Yue's sacrifice the North is without a lineage, are they going to shack me up with some icehole in her stead?"

After a few moments of stunned silence while Zuko tried to catch up and answer the questions she leans against him.

" _I'm sorry_ " she whispered. Her voice broke and it was almost husky after all the crying she'd done. He awkwardly pat her one the back and when she didn't pull away, left his hand there, pressed against her ribcage on the outside of thick robes. "I just don't want to have everything I've ever done to be tarnished by the idea that I'm somehow better than anyone else because I'm a princess. Like the reason I could train the Avatar and make a difference in the war, as a woman, was because I was somehow already special and that means that it isn't possible for others."

"Well…" Zuko, for exactly the 13th time that night, asked himself why she ran to him and dragged him out here rather than Suki or someone. Not that he wasn't immensely honoured that she was so comfortable with him but he was rather rotten at consoling people. He wracked his brain trying to think so something to say to remind her that her legacy won't change because she won't, he opens his mouth and, "You'll always be a peasant to me", comes out.

He immediately regretted it.

They both froze for a moment. A cold breeze brings icy sea foam into his face.

Then she laughs and snuggles closer into him, further wrapping the fur around them both. "Believe it or not," she said with a small smile, "that helped. Thank you."

* * *

They slept on the ship that night. They were found in his office with the fire out, her lying on the loveseat and him lying on the floor right beside it, sharing the fur blanket, asleep, the next morning by her concerned father and his amused Uncle.

Sokka and Katara becoming officially known as a Prince and a Princess was scheduled a day after the anniversary of the war and a week after the party from the Fire Nation arrived.

* * *

When he first got to speak to her after the ceremony it was with the whole Gaang. She looked bewildered, kind of numb, and like she felt the pearl hairpiece was too much.

"Look at you," Toph started, the irony of the figure of speak not lost, "One step closer to being a bona-fide Sugar Queen". The young heiress laughed, as did Aang and Katara but Zuko kind of just stared at her. _Sugar Queen_. The prospect of her becoming his queen danced across his imagination before being quashed by his poor self-esteem and inferiority complex.

In his mind, from the moment her knew her, as in really knew her, and what she was really like, she was more a goddess than woman, more a leader than a follower and more a princess that a peasant. But that was because she was better than them all. He knew that she was happier to be a woman, a follower and a _peasant_ because that gave her more freedom to choose her own path and be notable for her own merits. It was this that he found so admirable about her. She empowered people by setting a standard or expectation for more but she never really wanted it to be about her and her power because that wasn't what any of it was about.

What made Katara great was that she saw the potential in the peasants more than any other princess he'd ever known.

To him, she was higher than royalty.

To him, she was _good_.

 **A/N and welcome to the end of Day 14: Royalty. I kinda wrote this one with that title in mind (inspired by 'She's always a woman to me' by Billy Joel). I'm an unashamed fan of awkward Zuko. I like the idea of him cooking with Kanna and her seeing him now as good for her granddaughter. I believe Gran Gran totally understands Katara and that they're very alike. I think she'd encourage her to leave home and convinced Hakoda to loosen the strings because she can take care of herself. I also love it when he put his foot in his mouth (not sure if that's a figure of speech everywhere but just in case, not literally) and unwittingly says something not quite clever. I find it cute.**

 **I hope you like this chapter. I like having these to support each other. This one fits into my little continuity after day 8 lullaby and before day 1 secret lovers so right now we have a lot of ignoring attraction because I'm sure they both doubt their worthiness of the other.**

 **So next up is Caught, hopefully I'll have that written for you guys soon**

 **Happy Holidays! xo**


	15. Day 18 - The End of The World

**A/N So if you're here after Chapter 14, SURPRISE this is not the promised Day 15. It is also a year and half late. I hope you like it anyway. In case it isn't clear this one is another real world AU. Enjoy xx**

Party like It's 1999

Sokka had never been very superstitious. He believed in science and technology (as most engineering majors would). So when hype began about the start of the new millennium and people began losing their minds worrying planes would fall from the sky and the world as they knew it would end he found it ridiculous.

Katara had always believed in a higher power. She knew that there was something bigger than her and some things were written in the stars and destined to happen. Who was to say that Y2K wasn't going to bring catastrophic events? Everything happens for a reason and if Aunt Wu (her psychic…yes she had a psychic… Sokka teased her about it too) said it would be best for her to get out the city that day then who was Katara to argue?

Zuko had always found life complicated. He wasn't sure if any of it mattered or if it all mattered too much. He felt like his life was a joke to whatever higher power was out there. His Uncle would say that with every trial one faces and overcomes, their soul is strengthened. After the last 3 years he'd had, Zuko was pretty certain his soul was as strong as they come. He had gotten friends out of it all though. The kind of friends that almost make up for the 18 years he lived feeling as if he was undeserving of kindness and that affection was weakness. Now, at 21 years old, he was driving with a packed car, full of people that mean the world to him, on his way to an old beach house for new years with his best friend's family. His Uncle was seated beside him, having given up on trying to talk after Zuko repeatedly (at Toph's request) turned up the volume of the cassette.

Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls was blaring and Toph was singing along loudly and off key, thrusting her fists in the air and narrowly missing punching Katara in the face. In his rear view mirror, Zuko could vaguely see Aang attempting to converse with Katara and passing her a cassette tape.

Just as the song came to an end Katara's clear, "I don't think Zuko wanted to listen to N*SYNC Aang", rung out.

Toph laughed as Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chili Peppers started, "Sorry Twinkle Toes, I don't do boy bands."

Aang pouted and looked out the window at the trees flying past. "It isn't just N*SYNC there is some TLC and Ricky Martin on there…" he mumbles but this just makes Toph laugh again.

* * *

Zuko pulled up behind Hakoda's car. Bato had drawn the short straw and had sat between Sokka and Suki the whole way. The moment the young couple got out of the car they were together again, drawn to each other like two grossly affectionate super magnets. Frankly a crowbar would be necessary to separate those two now.

The beach house was actually around 200 metres from the ocean but its back patio had a totally unencumbered view of where the grass gave way to sands leading up to the water. It was a weathered old timber building with a path of almost too smooth stones (no doubt worn down over the years). One of the house numbers was missing but it was still recognisable due to the colour difference against the sun-bleached wood.

They would come here as a family when she was a kid Katara had once told him. Before… the incident…her mother…

When he was a kid his family would fly to a beachside villa on a highly exclusive private island.

He decided, listening to the soft sigh the plywood let out as he climbed the steps, that he liked this place better. So even if the world ended tonight, it wouldn't be the worst place to go.

Zuko glanced back, seeing Katara laugh at something he didn't hear and absent-mindedly going to help her Gran Gran up the steps – only to be swatted away.

No, it wouldn't be the worst place at all.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day exploring the old house and the surrounding area. It was a mild day so all but Aang decided to save swimming for another day. Sokka's sand Suki more closely resembled a sea monster but he had been so proud of his effort.

Zuko had put himself in charge of setting up a bonfire, searching the surrounding brushland for kindling.

"a solid foundation is paramount." He would say, raising a finger and nodding before returning to his self-appointed mission.

Toph thought the idea of building a fire (anything destructive really), sounded wonderful and decided to try and help him by finding some rocks to encircle the flames.

Despite being mostly blind (She was able to make out some features within a metre or so from her), she enjoyed self-sufficiency and Zuko liked the company.

They spent that night, the day before New Year's Eve, enjoying a bonfire night on the beach. Iroh led them in a chorus of campfire songs, they made s'mores and Gran Gran told a ghost story that made even Hakoda blanch. She smiled when she noticed her son's particularly dark eye bags the following morning. He humoured her of course, while the story was unnerving his night had been more palpably plagued by his own ghosts.

Zuko sat beside Katara on the beach. She teased him incessantly about his preference for entirely burnt marshmallows. He liked it when she teased him. She'd always have this particular look; a mischievous glint in her eye and a neutral expression other than the faintest hint of a half-smile.

She didn't talk to the others the same way - didn't tease them like that or as much.

Zuko dared to hope that it meant something.

When the fire started to die off and the group had one by one returned indoors to get some sleep she'd shuffled closer to him until it was just them left with fingers almost painfully close to touching by a pile of smouldering wood.

There was a slight sea breeze and she shivered.

"Are you cold?"

He didn't give her the chance to answer properly because he's awkwardly shrugging off his black denim jack and motioning to pass it to her, balled up. He wished he was suave. He'd seen Sokka sling a jacket over Suki's shoulders countless times and it always looked romantic.

He un-crumples the jacket and reaches across her back, slumping it over her shoulders and hitting her in the face in the process.

He turns red and his eyes expand.

"Uh, sorry…"

"No it's fine," she says rubbing her eye for a moment and then looks at him and smiles almost shyly. "Thank you," when he looks confused she lets out a breathy laugh, "for the jacket."

"oh," he scratches the back of his neck, "don't sweat it."

She relaxes into the oversized denim, curling it around herself and covering the lower part of her face with it.

It's quiet for a moment, then she lets out a soft hum,

"It smells like you."

"Huh? Oh, uh sorry."

"No, I didn't mean that as a bad thing! You smell good! Not that I've been smelling you… or anything." She groaned and buried her face in his jacket. He looked confused.

"I think I might turn in… Goodnight Zuko." She's aggressively mumbling as she walks away but he can't quite make out the words.

He's so confused; sitting alone on the sand and staring out at the ocean. He was tired, he hadn't realised how much so until she left. It was like he didn't really have a reason anymore to stay up. Knowing his body clock he'd probably be up again in a few hours.

He reluctantly gets up and stumbles inside, thoughts blurred with blue eyes and laughter. Before he passes out he wonders if he'd made it too obvious that he liked her. Like really liked her.

* * *

Almost everyone slept in on New Year's Eve so Zuko and Iroh had a peaceful morning, sharing a cup of lovingly brewed jasmine tea. Kanna is up next; she joins them and playfully swats Iroh for his shameless flirting. Slowly but surely everyone emerges from their rooms. After 10:30 it is decided the fact neither Suki nor Sokka are up is highly suspicious and Kanna goes to investigate.

When Katara comes out she is wearing Zuko's jacket, which receives a raised brow from Iroh but no comment.

"It looks kinda good on you," Zuko says awkwardly as she sleepily makes herself some breakfast in the small kitchen.

"What?" she looks down and blushes, "I was really tired…I totally forgot I had it on…" she slides it off her back, folds it and passes it back to him.

He decides not to think too much about the fact that it was only slung over her shoulders the night before.

"thanks for lending it to me."

"My pleasure," He doesn't look at her. If he did he would've know she was also avoiding eye contact.

Hakoda and Bato go fishing. Toph decides to follow them under the pretence that she might be allowed to kill any they catch with a rock. Iroh and Kanna play Pai Sho. Sokka offers Suki a tour of the surrounding land and Aang misinterprets the circumstances and tags along. Katara decides to go for a swim. Zuko decides to sketch, sitting on the sand and doing quick studies of the surrounding brush and rocks and her.

He's deep in concentration, when she emerges. Her wet braid is swinging and a fat drop lands next to his charcoal conch shell as she admires his work.

"Is that me?" She asks, pointing at the opposite page full of various quick doodles of a braided figure splashing around in the ocean. He goes red and snaps the sketchbook closed.

"They're just roughs…" he mumbles as he gets up and stomps back inside.

They don't spend too much time together for the rest of the day, Zuko not trusting himself not to say something and ruin their friendship because now he can't talk to her without stuttering or blushing.

He spent the rest of the day 'meditating'.

If the world was going to end tonight, how would he want to see it out?

* * *

The final minutes of the 20th century were upon them.

Even Sokka was oddly sombre as uncertainty took hold of the room. He'd pulled Suki closer, her head resting in the crook of his neck as they whispered to each other small words of love and promises meant only for each other's ears. Hakoda and Bato where drinking beer on the patio, staring into the stars and talking about the wives they'd both lost. They were rather nonplussed about the prospect of the end of the world… in some ways their worlds' ended years ago.

Toph had been quiet for 20 minutes, utterly out of character, as she drank a beer she'd pinched from the fridge.

"I'm going to see my parents."

Her small voice broke the silence. 9 sets of eyes turned to look at her. Her blind ones stared glassily.

Had it not been such a revelation, Sokka would've been overjoyed to point out that she was blind and would be unable to see them anyway.

"…Once this is over… this world ending or whatever. I'm going to meet with them."

Katara lays a supportive hand on her wrist which Toph was quick to wind into her hand, give a quick (almost painful) squeeze, and then releases.

The TV is on, the volume is low and the signal isn't great so it's crackly, almost reminiscent of the sound of their bonfire the night before.

"I'm going to open my own tea shop." Iroh says before placing his hands on his round stomach, "and maybe start exercising again."

Toph snorts in a gross manner and the mood lightens slightly.

"I'm going to make a new boomerang. One even better than the one I lost."

"I'm going to find my mother." The room sobers again. Hakoda can't help but look at the boy with pity. The finale minute of '99 has arrived and Zuko goes to leave the room but Katara grabs his hand and stops him.

"I'm going to help you." She says, looking in his eyes. She goes to let go of his hand, conscious of the fact all their closest friends and family are in the room, staring at them. He grips her hand, interlocking their fingers.

"Katara… um… listen, just in case the world ends in the next minute… I have to tell you…" he looks away, clenching his jaw, the veins in his neck jutting out.

"Zuko, what is it?"

The countdown has started, the screen flashes with numbers as the last ten seconds of the millennium slip away.

 _10._

"I -"

 _9._

"I think…"

 _8._

"Katara,"

 _7._

"SPIT IT OUT ALREADY"

 _6._

"SHUT UP SOKKA"

 _5._

"You were saying Zuko?"

 _4._

"I just-"

 _3._

"Come on Nephew"

 _2._

"Just say it Sparky!"

 _1._

"I want us to be together… If you'd like to…"

There is a heavy moment of silence.

 ** _HAPPY NEW YEAR_**

And she just kisses him.

Fireworks are playing on the screen.

Fireworks are going off outside a few hundred metres away over the water.

Fireworks are going off inside their heads.

The room erupts with sound; people hugging, Suki shutting up Sokka's oogies with a New Years kiss of their own, the group gathering on the patio to watch the fireworks.

There was no great apocalyptic moment. Planes didn't fall out of the sky. But it almost felt like the end of something. It was the end of an era of hardship and struggle in Zuko's life. It was the end of his concept of the world as hostile and cruel.

Aunt Wu was right, it was for the best that they'd gotten out of the city.

This is how the world ends... not with a whimper but a bang.

* * *

 **A/N HELLO READER! Long time no update. If you're reading this I just want to say thank you. Obviously this is super late and not even the correct day but I have been wanting to post something for so long and I've had some serious writers block for day 15. I actually finished this instead of doing a university essay but this is far more overdue so I can possibly justify it to myself.**

 **The cover image for this story is a drawing I did years ago now, it was initially going to be a short comic thing but unsurprisingly I didn't finish it. It isn't really finished either but I am reasonably happy with it as is (it'll probably be altered aswell).**

 **I really hope you enjoyed this (and the little play on the immortal line from T.S. Eliot's _The Hollow Men_ that it finished with). **

**I was only a baby when Y2K happened but I heard there was a lot of concerns about what might happen and thought it might be a cute idea for an AU.**

 **I hope everyone who celebrates it has a happy and safe Easter.**

 **I still want to finish this months worth of short stories, even if it is unbelievably late.**

 **Until next time xx**


	16. Day 21 - Unravel

**A/N It may be well over a year late but technically this one is still going up on the 21st so that counts, right? This one is a prequel to Day 7: Regret but they both stand alone just fine. I finished writing this one the same day I posted the last chapter but thought I should pace things a little bit (definitely don't get used to updates this often, I was meant to be writing an essay when I wrote this). I'm pretty sure this still classifies as T...**

 **Personally I really like this one so I hope you do too :) xx**

* * *

Unselfish

Being Fire Lord brought with it many obligations.

Being Fire Lord after 100 years of war that was instigated by your ancestors was crippling.

In the process, however, Zuko learnt so much about himself.

Like the fact that, despite how much he would sometimes want to, he struggled to be selfish.

* * *

He tried it… for so long. He tried to keep everything separate.

He tried to fool himself into believing that being the Fire Lord wouldn't stop him from being with the woman he loved.

 _…the woman he loved…_

* * *

There was a lockable drawer in his bedroom. No one questioned it. He was a powerful man and powerful men were allowed to have secrets. Under his mother's worn out copy of the "Love amongst the Dragons" novel was a small red box.

It was much alike the one he used to propose to his current fiancée but it meant so much more.

* * *

When Zuko was 20, an opportunity arose; an opportunity for him to actually be happy. Such a foreign concept it was to him, happiness; ever allusive and oddly associated with moments recovering from a lightening wound.

He was in Ba Sing Se on business, it was ever important to show he was amicable with Kuei, but he was utilising it as time with his uncle.

Katara, not long 18, was avoiding suitors and, after an event she'd been reluctant to divulge information about, had travelled incognito from Omashu to Ba Sing Se without Aang.

All it took was a perfectly brewed cup of hot leaf juice and she spoke of her situation. They were in the Jasmine Dragon after closing time, sitting at a cosy little booth by candlelight. The room was green and the light golden and it was transporting, as if they were in some other, private world.

He had been in love with her for almost 3 years.

She had been seeing the Avatar for slightly less but still similarly close to 3 years.

The Avatar's happiness and friendship with him was paramount in his re-establishing nation.

But the Avatar wasn't there…

He had a future planned out for them. He could even see faces of their possible children… the endless combinations of their features. He saw it running out like a tapestry, every step that he had orienteered in his mind, woven into an intricate design that he could wrap around himself and dare to hope. She'd be a loving, kind Fire Lady that would demand respect and excellence from their council. She'd make such a wonderful wife…

* * *

The ring and hair piece he'd commissioned for her sat heavy in a dresser drawer.

He wasn't sure what to do with them now.

They didn't belong with anyone but her...

* * *

...And it would seem that she didn't belong with anyone but Aang. She was so timid about it all… Aang hadn't proposed yet, during their stay in Omashu she'd overheard him talking to Bumi about the 'increasing urgency' to renew the ways of his people and the birth of the new generation.

 _"Do you want to know what happened in Omashu? Why I'm here?"_

 _"Only if you want to tell me, no pressure,"_

She and Aang had a huge argument. She was proposed to by the fourth Earthen Noble of the evening during a court soiree when Aang had made a huge song and dance about the whole thing and announced that she was _HIS_ and they couldn't have her because Katara was  his girlfriend. She'd gotten irate and refuted his sentiments, she belonged to herself. The Omashu court had the nerve to respond in agreement with the Avatar. Apologising to him.

Since the war, Katara had learnt a lot about politics and subsequently to reign in her temper, particularly when dealing with pigheaded officals. She hadn't raised her voice at all thus far. She was about to get really mad when King Bumi made eye contact with her, pulled at his collar and shook his head.

She said nothing, turning on a heel and returned to her room.

On the way she encountered the Northern Water Tribe's Ambassador, who was in Omashu for the same trade summit that she and Aang were meant to be there for.

"Mistress Katara," he bowed shallowly, his sunken blue eyes were amiable.

"Ambassador," She curtsied and motioned to continue on her leave, still silently seething.

"I hear it was recently your 18th year! You have truly aged into a true beauty. I don't understand how why you father has been unable to find you a suitable match by your age."

"Actually, in the south we don't arrange- -"

"I suppose it could be the fact you are known to have a few undesirable masculine qualities."

Her eye twitched.

"…but surely your passing interest in such things wouldn't outweigh you attractiveness and status."

"I'll have you know mastering combative water bending was not a _passing interest_."

He wasn't listening to her, "Ah that must be it! It is because you're _involved_ with the Avatar."

"yes, I was his waterbending teacher and helped end the 100 Year War."

"and now no doubt his lover, no wonder you aren't married. You're _tarnished_."

She froze him to the wall.

* * *

Zuko laughed when she recount this to him in the tea shop. (She liked his laugh; the sound was warm, enveloping, and _rare_ ).

"So anyway, I return to my rooms. And nearly an hour later Aang comes by and, get this, he's mad at me for attacking the Ambassador! He tells me, as if he was doing me a favour, that he apologised for me and that I'd been behaving irrationally most of the evening."

"Wow…"

"I tell him what the ambassador said about me and he gets mad and declares that I am perfect and bending doesn't make me unattractive. Then he says I shouldn't worry about him thinking I'm tarnished because it's not a bad thing for other men to not want to marry me... Because I'm his forever girl… I quote, 'you shouldn't worry your pretty head about marriage Katara, you're with me'." She imitates him poorly but the words still make Zuko's stomach turn. "I told him he didn't get it at all and to just go… he got all tense and spat 'fine.' and walked out. So I packed and left for Ba Sing Se. Lucky it was a full moon that night so I didn't have to wait for sunrise to leave… I just couldn't stand to be near him any longer."

"He doesn't seem to understand you very well Katara. Honestly, I can't believe you're still together if he treats you like that."

"Oh he isn't so bad. We have fun together," Zuko looks at her, alarmed, and she slaps his arm and smirks at him "and no, before you ask not that kind of fun, your majesty. Mind out of the gutter, please. No matter what that crusty old ambassador may think, I'm not tarnished at all. "

Zuko tries not to look relieved.

He fails.

"I'm glad my lack of a sex life pleases you." She says it with a laugh and pokes his good cheek at the corner of his smile.

"Hey! I didn't mean it in that way. I was just smiling, I'm innocent. Besides I think I know how it feels to have a non-existent sex life."

"That's by choice though."

"Technically, so is yours."

She looks directly at him and feels him read her thoughts. He sees through her, straight into her fears of intimacy and her secret happiness that Aang hasn't tried anything too serious with her because she isn't sure.

They are silent for a moment. He fidgets with his cup and she idly bends the condensation around the rim of hers.

"You know, I wouldn't think any less of you either way..."

"I know Zuko," she stops bending and looks back at him with a soft smile and a pat on the Fire Lord's hand, "I know."

 _Three years of dating and she still isn't sure about him._

 _She isn't sure she wants him._

 _She loves him._

 _But does she want him?_

"Come back to the Fire Nation with me."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay,"

Her head fits perfectly into the crook of his neck and he is at peace. He is home.

* * *

He resolves that when they get to his homeland this time he will give her the jewellery he commissioned the last.

Last time, when Aang had used the fact he was 'right' that she should forgive the man who killed her mother as a reason she should always do as he advises.

Last time, when for the first time that Zuko knew of, Katara let loose a tirade on Aang.

Last time, when Aang ran away (again) and they didn't hear from him for weeks.

Last time, when Katara and Zuko would stay up into the wee hours of the morning and admit to each other that they wished things were different.

When Zuko told her all the things he loved about her.

When Katara confessed she didn't think being with Aang would be the way it is.

When she told him it didn't feel like the love her father described when he (rarely) speaks about his relationship with her mother.

When Zuko opened up his heart and soul and welcomed her to stay in the Fire Nation if she wanted.

When she'd smiled at him and he had let himself hope that she would.

She said she'd like to. He'd started organising things for her, seeking her counsel in political matters and revelling in her company.

They had three blissful weeks together in the palace as life partners. They never crossed into explicitly romantic territory. They were far more affectionate than Fire Nation court usually was but it wasn't much more than soft touches on the arm and infrequent hugs.

Just a week after she arrived he commissioned the ornaments and thinking about how he'll break the news to his advisers that he was going to marry a waterbender, if she would have him.

And then the fantasy shattered. It was announced that Aang was back from his soul searching and she was convinced behind a closed door to stay with the Avatar. They left that day. As Zuko watched Appa ascend his personal assistant informed him that the pieces he'd commissioned were done.

This time around Zuko decides that he isn't going to wait so long. He would make sure she knew that he was an option. This time he's going to be brave.

* * *

When they arrive in the Fire Nation they fall back into the routine from the last time. The staff notice that their leader is smiling more. He has a renewed passion for his work.

They spend long evenings talking by the fire in his office. They cuddle close behind the closed door. Her head fits perfectly into his neck; her hand fits perfectly into his. She knows him unlike anyone else. They keep things on the border of platonic, she gives him massages when he complains of aches and when they spar he never wears a shirt. They snuggle, play footsies and tickle each other. They make eye contact for a little bit too long.

* * *

She's been there for two weeks when he finally lets himself admits that he doesn't want her to ever leave. She kisses him on the cheek and says that she hasn't got any plans to go anywhere.

* * *

She's been there for four weeks when they're having supper and tea in his office and he has food stuck to his lip.

She holds his face and wipes it off with her thumb. He presses a soft kiss to her digit then covers her small hand with his own.

"What are you going to do when he comes back?"

"I don't know."

He turns his face, her finger tips run across his scar and he kisses her palm.

Her breath hitches in her throat.

"Would that answer change if I told you I love you?"

"I wish it would."

* * *

She's been there for five weeks when he pins her while they're sparring.

She's staring up at him. A drip of sweat rolls off a piece of his hair and falls onto her forehead. She finds that oddly erotic. Her senses are on fire. He has her wrists locked to the ground above her head. His hard body is hovering above hers in a steady plank.

He's breathing heavily; his chest is heaving. He's looking down at her with this cocky sidelong smirk. His face is so close to hers.

It wouldn't take much effort to kiss that stupid smile off his face. She'd just have to raise her head a little.

She wants to hook her legs over his hips and pull him into her. More than anything she wants to kiss him maybe, spar with their tongues and their bodies instead of just their bending.

Her breathing is shallow and her pupils are dilated when she rasps that he won and asks him to let her up. She walks away in a hurry and he's left confused.

* * *

She's been there for six weeks when she stops avoiding him and joins him in his office again and admits why she ran away from him.

"So… you wanted me?"

She covers her face with her hands, "Yes, okay Zuko?"

"Well it's more than okay with me."

"Shut up," he's smirking at her and she's blushing and hitting him with a pillow.

"So why didn't you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Act on it."

"You already know the answer."

He does.

She hasn't heard from Aang since she left Omashu. Word from the Earth Kingdom was that the Avatar had disappeared a few days after she had left. She isn't quite sure if they're still together or not. She knows she has never felt this way with Aang. There was an undeniable, almost animalistic, attraction that she had to Zuko. Especially when he smiles at her in that way – lopsided and mischievous yet filled with warmth and hope – her heart skips a beat. She was trying to convince herself that it was just physical, like she didn't hold a flame for the Firebender that took lightening for her. It all felt vaguely like a betrayal and she didn't want to hurt Aang.

It felt that way to Zuko too, sort of. But the way she spoke and the way he felt… honour be damned.

* * *

She's been there eight weeks and she's attended her third official dinner when she decides that she doesn't care what other people think.

The dinner was full of casual jabs at her heritage but Zuko had been so icily polite in setting them straight and she'd found it charming once again.

Instead of going straight to his office he asks her if she wants to see the house he grew up in.

Rather than getting a guard to escort them and unlock it the gate they decide to dig out their blacks and sneak in. It's like they're going to find her mother's killer again and she feels more alive than she has in a long time.

They scale and jump the wall fencing off the property.

They walk through the garden to the turtle duck pond. The birds are sleeping in the reeds and the house is so peaceful. They're totally alone and he reminisces about his mother and the fonder memories of his childhood.

They stand under the tree by the pond and he gazes into her starlit eyes. He looks serious, intense.

"She would've really liked you."

"You're going to find her Zuko," she corrects

"Yes, and when I do she'll really like you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I like you, anyone would be crazy not to."

She hugs him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing for a moment before slowly releasing.

"Thanks for bringing me here, it's beautiful."

Instead of drawing her hands away she runs them down his hard torso. The thin black fabric clings to him. Her hand stops on his lightening scar then locks she eyes with him and there is a fire in his and in her own. He's about to reply but she cuts him off.

She kisses him.

Hard.

He eagerly reciprocates, running his hands up and down her back before undoing her braid almost roughly.

She pushes him against the tree, standing on a root so he doesn't have to slouch so much to kiss her back. She's cupping his face and pressed flush against him. His hands stop at her lower back; he's being gentlemanly - not wanting to push her too far. She stops kissing him for a moment, making eye contact, breathing heavy and running her hands across his collar bones and down his muscled arms and resting them on his hands and pushing them down to cup her ass. He groans, squeezes and starts kissing her neck. Her hands tangle in his hair, her head lolls back, she rubs against him and he inhales sharply before quickly swapping their positions.

He grabs her thighs and she winds them around his waist. Her breasts are heaving under his chin and her heart is pounding in her ears. Everything about him is hard; she pulls him even closer with her legs and rolls her hips.

Then he kisses her. But it's different this time. It's still passionate but it's softer and followed by a sweet chain of pecks. Then he pulls away and lets her down.

"Why did you stop?" she's confused. He was into her; she knew he was. She had felt the evidence that he was enjoying it.

"I didn't want to lose control, do something you'd regret later."

"I kissed you first," she points out. He rakes his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, and I can only pray that you won't regret that."

She crosses her arms.

"A month ago you asked if you loving me would make me stay."

"I did."

"If you love me then why did you stop?" She's getting upset. She's feeling rejected and exposed. Like she'd somehow read it all wrong.

"I stopped because I do love you Katara." He's brushing loose strands of her hair out of her face but not avoiding looking into her scared eyes. "You haven't made up your mind about me but I made mine up about you a long time ago. I don't want these actions to get in the way of your decision…"

"Then why did you kiss me back in the first place?"

And he smiles at her shyly, his hair is still a total mess and it's one of the sexiest things she's ever seen,

"Because if that was my only chance to kiss you then I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't do it."

She smiles slightly at him, arms still crossed but now in a more embarrassed fashion, "and every time after that?"

"I guess I wanted to make sure we'd both have something to remember."

* * *

She's been there for 10 weeks when Zuko decides to pop the question.

They're standing in the very place he was coronated overlooking the spot he took lightening for her.

He asks the guards to leave them for a while.

He's fidgety and nervous but covers it well, the years in politics have taught him that. The ring box and hair pin are weighing down a secret pocket in his robes.

They're talking, reminiscing. It isn't as chatty as normal. She starts tearing up and folds herself under his arm, placing a hand where his lightening scar is and looked up at him.

"You saved my life Zuko, I don't know if I can ever repay you for that."

He's about to awkwardly suggest she could start by spending the rest of her life with him but one of his guards rounds the corner.

"I'm sorry to interrupt my Lord but… the Avatar has just arrived at the palace. He wishes to speak with Master Katara immediately.

Aang caught up with them in the Fire Nation. He and Katara are practically locked in a room all afternoon and through dinner.

When she walks into Zuko's office that night he knows that it's over between them… again, before they even had the chance to start. He'd shed his outer robes but the jewellery was still on his person, even though he wouldn't have asked that night even if she did end it with Aang.

"He needs me." She'd said like it explained everything. "And you two need to be on good terms for the sake of the world…" she trails off. She wants to say more but she can't.

He can fill in the blanks. She doesn't trust a sixteen year old to be able to separate private life with politics. Or perhaps it isn't his age but simply his nature. Either way, Aang was the Avatar. It was imperative to the peace that he remain if not positive then neutral to all the nations. She motions like she's going to reach out to the young leader but stops herself and looks pained.

Zuko doesn't say anything. A tear rolls down her cheek and she gets up off the love seat she sat beside him on. She walks for the door, stopping halfway and turning to him, voice barely above a whisper and choked up with tears.

"I'm sorry Zuko."

There is the distinct sound of the door closing.

He extinguishes the flames in the room, buries his head in his hands and cries. The hair pin is digs painfully into his chest.

They leave on Appa the first thing the next morning. He clears his morning schedule and sits by the turtleduck pond alone watching the water ripple and pucker. He wonders why the rain is only falling on his face.

* * *

He runs his fingers across the smooth surfaces of the pin and holds the ring in his palm. It's been years now that the jewellery had taken up residence in his draw. He'd met and begun courting Ezme a few months after Katara chose Aang. There had been so much pressure from the court and he really liked Ezme… so he proposed marriage and she said yes.

She tried to suggest a date and he would push it back, further and further until it came to the present moment and he ran out of excuses.

He was 23 now. The Fire Nation was stabilising. There had been a minor scare, an attempt on his life that was covered from public knowledge, and it was once again paramount that he had an heir. So he was getting married.

It was the night before what was being dubbed, "The wedding of the era". He closed his fist around the ring. He saw the little blue eyed fire princes and princesses that he could've filled the cold palace halls with. He saw her smile. He heard her laugh. He felt hot tears run down his cheeks and clenched his jaw. The ring dug into his skin painfully, the facets in the stone imprinting on his skin.

He thought of Ezme and how unfair it would be to her if he didn't give it a real shot. He knew he could love her… he had been holding himself back from it for so long. She'd be very easy to love. Kind, vibrant and beautiful. She was a lot like Katara in many ways.

The only problem was that she wasn't Katara.

He closed his eyes and saw blue.

He loosened his grip on the ring and placed it back in its box and let it shut with an unsatisfying thud. He put it all back in the draw and covered it over with his mother's book. He closed and locked the draw and readies himself for bed.

He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling. His heart ached but he is a leader.

He doesn't have the luxury of being selfish.

…He thought once more of the tapestry in his mind depicting each wonderful phase of what could've been their future, images that he'd wrapped himself in and comforted himself with, then he let it unravel.

* * *

 **A/N They may not end up together but I feel like these two deserved to have something steamy to remember. They are both far too moralistic to cheat and betray their partners (If Aang ever found out about this then there would definitely be a Ross "WE WERE ON A BREAK" moment). It breaks my little fangirl heart to keep these two apart but this way we can still comply with LoK (maybe).**

 **Let me know what you think! I hope where-ever in the world you are you're having a good day/night x**


	17. Day 16 - Forbidden

**A/N Hello Reader!**

 **Thanks for making it this far - this is a very short addition to this collection but I wanted to upload something (there is something else ready which I'll probably upload in the next few days but I thought I'd make my first update in months something sweet). I actually got back from 3 months studying abroad a bit over two weeks ago now. I'm still dedicated to finishing this Zutara Month (from 2 years ago now) eventually. Since I have a** 3000 word **essay due next month hopefully I'll have plenty of inspiration come out of the procrastination.**

 **This one comes chronologically after the events of Day 12 - Patience.**

 **I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday/Christmas period.**

* * *

No Use Hiding

If she was honest with herself, Katara would admit that she has mild problems with authority. There was something about being told what to do or not to do that made her want to do exactly the opposite, it made her feel alive and strong. It wasn't the authority itself that she had a problem with, really, it was orders and restrictions.

Tell her not to look and she'll instantaneously glance in the direction.

Her rebellious urges weren't so strong that they'd counteract her values but they made her Water Tribe "inquisitive" nature unstoppable.

* * *

A few months after they returned from their short vacation for their third anniversary, Zuko found her rifling through his bedchambers. The guards permanently stationed outside his room had given him incredibly sheepish looks as their monarch heard the sound of movement in his room.

"We're sorry your majesty… she was incredibly insistent" one mumbled before pushing the door open to see his entire drawer of silk sleep clothes upturned and unceremoniously flung around the room.

"Katara… what are you doing?"

"I'm SORRY ok Zuko?"

He smirked, "you don't sound very sorry. What were you looking for?"

She crossed her arms and frowned, "If you must know, last time I was in here you opened this draw and I heard a weird rattling noise in it and thought it might be where you're hiding Sokka's birthday present and I wanted to know what you got him."

"So rather than asking what I bought for your brother you decided to intimidate my men and snoop?"

"I was not snooping! It was reconnaissance! Besides, I did ask you and you told me it was a surprise."

"It IS a surprise."

"Yes, a surprise FOR SOKKA. So why won't you tell me?"

"Because, sweetheart, I don't think I need to have you approve the gifts I give my best friend."

"You're both political leaders, a bad gift might ruin fire nation-water tribe relations"

"I think Fire Nation-Water Tribe alliance is pretty safe… considering I'm in a serious relationship with his sister. And as for the relations, I didn't hear you complain about them last night."

She scowls at him for a moment. There is the faintest hint of a blush on her cheeks as he smiles cheekily at her. He can see the cogs behind her eyes turning as she thinks of some kind of witty and scathing retort.

"You suck"

He laughs and pressed a kiss to her temple. "You'll find out what I got him when he does."

She gets up and leaves the room, too proud to admit defeat.

* * *

The hunting-kit debacle, as it later becomes known after Zuko informs their friends at Sokka's birthday dinner, lingers in Zuko's mind. Katara had begrudgingly admitted that it was a great gift after the group had finished their good-natured teasing of her snooping ways. Sokka had slapped a hand on his friend's shoulder blade, slinging his new bag filled with perfectly weighted hunting knives, and half-joked with a wink, "you'll have to find a better place to hide the stuff you get her".

Had he put more thought into it he might've realised how everything would've gone before it did.

Toph had given him the finished engagement ring he asked her to make after Sokka's dinner. He kept it in a hidden pocket of his robes (the one he'd usually hide a small snack in during particularly long council meetings) until he could get a ring box the following day. As Toph passed the precious ring over she'd repeated Sokka's sentiments adding that "it's about time you make Sugar Queen a bonafide Queen".

The next day he freaked out a little thinking about the unreliability of all his usual hiding places. The Gaang weren't parting ways for a few days yet so, with the weight of the ring hanging against his chest he asked Toph to install a metal lock to his pyjama drawer.

* * *

Katara has seen a great many strange things in the Fire Nation but none that are as puzzling as to why Zuko would start locking up his sleep clothes.

She notices it an afternoon after they returned from the nearby beach with their friends. She had snuck into his chambers with him so they could fool around a little before dinner. He'd tried to convince her not to but all it took was her lips pressing against his neck and her pulling at his lapel to change his mind. A glint of metal she'd never noticed before caught her eye in a brief moment they separated to take a breath.

He had been increasingly cagey and distant in the last few days and then this. She decided to confront him.

"Zuko why is there a lock on your drawer?"

"Um…because I don't want anyone looking through it…"

"Has a servant been stealing your pyjamas or something?"

"What? No!"

"Has Sokka?"

"Katara, no one is stealing my pyjamas."

"Then who are you hiding things from?"

"I'm the Fire Lord, Katara, is it that unheard of for me to have secrets?" He got anxious, his jaw clenched and he started getting flustered. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

"You're keeping secrets from me now? What happened to us being a team?"

"Agni's sake Katara…"

"Zuko, what are you hiding from me?"

He groaned in frustration, "I let you in on everything. You're completely involved in my political and personal life. You have access to me on a level that no one else has ever had." He holds her hands in his and looks deeply into her blue eyes. The frustration eases from his voice as he tries to shift to a different tactic. "All I ask is you respect I'm keeping this drawer to myself."

She gives him a long look, considering what he said. Then, in a measured tone, she says, "then tell me what's in there."

Zuko had mostly learned to control his temper but this moment, as she continued to push something that was unbeknownst to her all for her sake, he broke for a second.

"Just consider it forbidden."

She blinked, said a terse fine and he tried to convince himself it was all done.

* * *

The next few days go by without a hitch and he thinks she might've actually listened. They spend days with their friends and there is no sign that there is anything wrong between them. Then he has to lead a meeting with Aang, Sokka, Suki, Iroh and Toph all in attendance. Katara had been complaining of an upset stomach the day before and informed him she would probably sleep in and join after the recess.

Zuko had been foolish enough to think she'd finally started to be kind to herself when she was sick. Instead, she used the morning to use the ninja skills he taught her (and Suki helped her refine) and broke into his room.

Toph had made her hairpieces that doubled as lock picks as a joke a few years prior and she intended to test how well they worked. Attempting to be as quiet as possible she jiggled the sticks in the keyhole, getting increasingly frustrated until...

Click

The sound is faint and she silently celebrates as the drawer eases open.

"That'll show you for using your stupidly sexy Fire Lord voice on me, 'forbidden' my ass Jerk Lord." she thinks, smirking to herself.

Carefully she removes each garment, willing herself to memorise the order they were in so he wouldn't notice but then her hand brushes something different to all the silks. And there it was in her hand, a ring box; small, velvety and red. So red. She opens it and her jaw drops. Inside is a stunning Fire Opal and diamond ring.

Then, the bedroom door is thrown open, a very flustered Fire Lord is on the other side, gaping at her and she hides the box behind her.

"THERE you are! My Uncle went to check on you because you SAID you were sick. When your room was empty we thought someone had kidnapped you!" He kisses her brusquely and cradles her face in his large, calloused hands before resting his forehead on hers. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I'm so sorry for scaring you, Zuko."

He nods.

Then he notices the open drawer...

"Katara, do you really have THAT much problem with authority!? I told you not to go in there. Agni, how'd you even get into that lock?"

"Zuko, what is this?"

She holds the ring box up at him and he goes bright red and quiet.

"You weren't supposed to get it like this. I wanted it to be perfect."

"What is it?"

"In the Fire Nation we propose marriage with a ring…"

"Yes."

"I haven't asked yet," He masks his happiness with a guise of annoyance but she's smiling so hard and starting to cry and he is failing.

"Well hurry up and ask!" She shakes the box in his face and he takes it.

"Katara, Waterbending master, War Hero, Ambassador and daughter of the Southern Water Tribe, will you honour me with the privilege of being your husband."

"YES YOU BIG STUPID IDIOT!" She throws her arms around his neck and continues to cry. He pushes her away for a moment to put the ring on her when a commotion comes from outside.

"ZUKO, She wasn't in the gardens and Aang couldn't find any side of her flying over in the Caldera- Kat." Sokka stops out the front of the royal bedchambers, his robes were a mess and he looked stressed out of his mind. Then he registers what is happening.

"Sokka, I'm getting married!"

There is a long silence as he takes it in before he smiles vibrantly.

"It's about damn time."


	18. Day 25 - In HisHer Shoes

Their Stupidly Pointy Shoes

Leaving him was one of those decisions she knew she would think about for the rest of her life. Every time she got close to him she allowed herself to be swept away in him and his smile until reality (her surprisingly pessimistic brand of it considering her hopeful reputation) would wash over her and haul her back. The way his lips curved, the rolling chuckle of his laugh… she would be consumed by her simple adoration of it all - Of him as a person and as a leader. He impressed her. He was humble and hardworking (and surprisingly optimistic considering his pessimistic reputation).  
He loved her both selfishly and selflessly.

To his court, being with Katara would've been selfish. Being together would mean they'd have to prove themselves over and over again and convince a nation that it was in their best interest too. She was not a choice that would've been looked upon too well. It was one thing to be a revered war hero but another entirely to be their Fire Lady.

His devotion to her though was selfless. He wanted to see her thrive. He relished in her happiness. He took lightning for her once and she knew he wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

So yes, she chose Aang because the younger boy had a penchant for grudges and possessiveness that overwhelmed his sense of reason. The peace was still new and she didn't want to risk it. Wars had been fought for less than 'stealing' a powerful man's 'forever girl'.

She also chose Aang because she was afraid.

Afraid of someone loving her enough to die for her...

 _Afraid of losing someone she loves because they were protecting her._

 ** _Afraid to be somehow to blame for the death of someone she couldn't imagine her life without._** ** _Again._**

She let the fears win telling herself it was for the good of the world.

If she could, she would have told him that it was guilt partially to blame… He would probably understand, disapprove and argue, but understand. But she couldn't.

She couldn't even admit it to herself.

* * *

There was a ball at the Fire Palace a bit over a year after the war ended. 'Team Avatar' was reassembled once more.

Mai was out of the picture, she had been for a while. While Aang was wowing the crowds and pleasing the people with his bending tricks and century lost dance moves, Katara watched a young Fire Lord inching his way towards the door, looking flustered.

It was a lot more subtle than when she'd first gotten to know him; he was less prone to theatrics as a leader. He was fidgeting his fingers in billowing sleeves and his jaw was set with tension but his overall expression was one of polite attention. The Earth Kingdom aristocrat seemed to be satisfied enough by whatever Zuko said to him, walking away and nodding approvingly to his companion.

Zuko went to run his fingers through his hair only to remember it was in a tight top knot. His hands were shaking slightly and she watched from across the room as he tried to escape unnoticed into the palace gardens.

She follows, weaving her way through foreign dignitaries, her boyfriend none-the-wiser to her departure.

She is only a few minutes behind him but he's already disappeared into the night and she hasn't spent nearly enough time in the palace, let alone the gardens to know her way around. The hem of her crystal blue gown grazed the slightly damp grass and practically glowed under the light of the moon.

When she does find him it's only because he lets her.

"Katara?" He'd been well concealed against a wall and encased in shadow. His crown is in his hands and he looks nervous and confused.

"Hey," she smiles at him. It's a smile that carries the question 'do you want to talk about it' and she can tell as he shakes his head that the message was understood.

"What are you doing out here? Are you not enjoying the party? Uncle planned it."

"If I'm honest," the waterbender starts, looking off at the moon, "I feel like I get lost in crowds."

He nods. "I do too," she raises a brow at him and points at the metal flame in his hands, "Zuko gets lost in the crowd, people only really see and have an interest in the Fire Lord." She places a hand on his arm and shuffles closer to him.

"If you're going to stay out here in the wallflower garden then we should probably keep moving."

"How come?"

"Well I was hiding from my guards but that dress is hardly inconspicuous."

She looks down; the silk is silvery-blue and makes her look like a personified moonbeam. She crosses her arms self-consciously and he misconstrues it as insecurity.

"You look beautiful! ...In case you were worried… I was just saying that… well you know… you stand out." He's blushing furiously, scratching the back of his neck and looking away. She laughs and thanks him (blushing softly as well).

"So where can we hide, your majesty? This is your palace."

There is a mischievous glint in his eyes, "can you bend ice to look like a mirror?"

They're concealed among greenery and trees in the royal gardens. They're just close enough to a fountain for Katara to effortlessly create walls around them. It's a balmy night and she knows that the ice probably won't last if she doesn't touch them up at regular intervals but the only alternative she can think of involves climbing a tree and frankly she likes her dress too much to risk ruining it like that.

A song that his mother loved is carried to them on the breeze and he clumsily teaches her the dance that accompanied it. They whisper secrets and stories and confide. They hide together for as long as their senses of duty will allow them to. Before they do part ways he gives her a look that she would later realise was longing. He whispers, as he catches the tired expression on her face looking at Aang doing a handstand on his air-scooter, that no one was forcing her to be with him. She saw a promise in the older boy's eyes that neither of them was prepared to verbalise and she would proceed to be swept up in that memory and how his gaze made her feel.

* * *

There were a few months – when her relationship status was questionable to complicated – where there really seemed like she and Zuko would have a chance. There had been other times, moments over the years that never quite got the chance to be the right time.

She was eighteen and after dancing around it, lying to herself and flirting for weeks she did finally kiss him. It was wonderful, wet and hot (unsurprising considering the two elements they wield), but also tender and terrifying. During this time in the Fire Nation she tries to give over to the fantasy life that he offers her. He selflessly gives himself to her, speaks words of love that she knows would be devastating for her to return (words that will continue to taunt and tease her throughout the years). She tries to forget that somewhere out in the real world, Aang was still convinced she was made for him. He believed destiny made them for each other. He joked once that the spirits froze him for 100 years because they needed all that time to make a soulmate for him as perfect and wonderful as her. She'd kissed him when he said that but had honestly found it weird and insensitive to the hundred years of suffering the world endured in his absence. She didn't think spirits would be so harsh as to freeze the hope of the world just so he could exist in the same timeline as her.

She also hated the idea she was _made for him_ , somehow he had made her whole existence reliant on him. And yet Aang was safe. She saw him as reliable (in the sense that she knew him and his patterns rather than in the typical sense) and sweet. There was a comfort to destiny and Aunt Wu did say she'd marry a very powerful bender and who could be more powerful than the Avatar? He wanted to see the good in the world always. She believed in him… somewhere along the line, he'd convinced her that her belief also meant she had to be with him.

She had ten weeks with Zuko. A taste of the life she could've had if her heart was braver. He loved her but she saw the instability that being with her would cause and she would use that thought to stop herself from recognising that she had been scared. He was always a bad liar and that extended to his facial expressions. His broken expression and the single tear she witnessed haunt her.

* * *

She watches from the sidelines of a royal wedding. Her heart hurts and in that moment there isn't anything she wouldn't do to be in Ezme's shoes. Her stupidly pointy, perfect shoes that somehow make her already long legs look even longer. The Fire native looks so beautiful. So different from Katara; all long limbs, porcelain skin and long straight hair (which successfully made the intricate braids it was woven into still look manageable).

Katara looks at his face.

The selfish part of her wants to see just a glint of unhappiness on his face. She wants to feel like he wishes that it was her he was marrying just like she does.

But he does look happy. He is smiling. Most importantly, the smile makes it to his mismatched eyes and he looks radiant.

It isn't the same as how he looked at her. She feels her stomach twist with jealousy because Ezme gets a special, private Zuko smile that's just for her. Katara can see the promise in his eyes.

He is promising her a life, a future and a nation.

When Zuko smiled at Katara he looked at her very soul. He saw her true character - the good with the bad, the light with the dark – and in his eyes she knew that he loved it all. His eyes promised her his heart. Or at least they did once. The promise is different for Ezme because it is unafraid and unreserved.

Zuko promises Ezme the world with no fear of rejection.

When he promised it to her half the time he was already resigned to the rejection himself. As she broods, watching the happy couple enjoy each other she feels an affinity to the perpetually emotional teenage Zuko. She also understood why he continued to love her and the tear between happy and sad he must have felt when he saw her and Aang having fun together. She was a glutton for emotional punishment, consoling herself with an idea that it was for the good of everyone.

* * *

Katara remembers the first time she met Ezme. She wanted to hate her. The moment she and Aang had arrived in the Fire Nation there had been murmurs of the Fire Lord's new girlfriend and Zuko had awkwardly pulled her aside to tell her himself that it was true.

"Her name is Ezme… She's not you but since you're not an option," He scratches the back of his neck, he's blushing a little, "she is a nice alternative. I really like her. Hopefully, you will too."

Katara hoped she didn't.

It was petty; especially because she had been the one to cut off their romance before it had a chance and went back to dating Aang. When she reflects on it later she hates how much she appreciates the way he reiterates it would have been her in a heartbeat.

The following day Zuko had organised for them to all have tea out in the gardens. Ezme had been nervous and super polite but as she relaxed it became painfully obvious that she was a strong and vibrant character.

When Aang commented later on that he'd never seen Zuko smile so much Katara defiantly thought _I have._

He used to save all his smiles for me.

The other girl was taller than Katara. She wasn't as tall as Mai had been. Zuko's final growth spurt years previous had made certain that he was still at least half a head taller than her. Katara glowered at them as she realised Ezme's forehead was about lip height on Zuko, those little sweet forehead kisses he'd give her… it would be even easier for him to give them to this _other_ woman. It made her heart hurt.

Ezme's eyes were the colour of honey and toast. It was an earthier colour than Zuko's golden irises. Katara wanted to hate those toast eyes. But they were kind eyes. She had the faintest hint of where crow's feet will develop from smiling so much. Her hair was long and straight with no tangles or frizz, even in the humidity.

She made Katara feel like some kind of wild thing. She stared at her reflection, all unruly curls, round cheeks and a deeper complexion totally out of place among the porcelain-skinned elites of the fire nation.

* * *

He confronts her about her distance with his girlfriend over tea a little later.

"I have to start being practical. The Fire Nation is doing well, industry and trade are thriving. I have to start considering the future. Ezme is a wonderful woman; she's got a good head for politics and cares about our people and the world. I imagine that I could start a wonderful lineage with her."

" _LINEAGE?_ Spirits, things are that serious already?" She tries to play it off as a joke but there is an unhinged look in her eye and her lips can't quite form a smirk. The expression looks more like crazed disbelief.

"In case you hadn't noticed Katara, I'm the Fire Lord. I also haven't got an heir. The longer I go childless the longer there is a chance people could get my father or sister back on the throne."

She doesn't say anything.

An assassin had gotten close to actually killing him a week before Aang and Katara arrived which he'd chosen not to inform them of. He was under immense pressure to settle down. After his friends leave he'll be proposing – less than a year after he was going to propose to Katara and only a number of months after starting his relationship with Ezme.

"What did you think I was going to do? You made your choice Katara… I had to respect it."

His voice is so soft. There is a raw pain in it. She only realises she's crying when his soft pale hand caresses her cheek and wipes the tears away. He kisses her forehead and she chokes on a sob and wraps her arms around him tightly.

"I'll always love you Katara. It would pain me, but you say you're leaving him to be with me, and truly mean it, and I'd leave Ezme."

"I _can't_."

He strokes her hair and whispers _I know, I understand,_ _ **it's okay**_ over and over into her curls. Silently, she understands that every time this happens it's harder for him and he probably means it less. She hates that in spite of knowing what she wants all this time - it is entirely her fault that she doesn't have it. What's worse is she knows every time she is hurting him but somehow he is the one comforting her not the other way around. Eventually, she stops crying, her eyes are bloodshot and there is snot running down her face. He looks at her like she's beautiful and wipes her face with his expensive silk sleeve. In that second she imagines him as a father; a doting, attentive and wonderful father. Her heart explodes with love for him and she hopes he can see it because she has never been able to actually tell him she loves him like that…

"You know, you and her are really alike in many ways." Katara snorts unattractively and he smiles as if it's endearing. "Seriously, you'd probably be really good friends," he looks at the young woman's expression, her arched brow makes him laugh and he kisses her on the forehead again "…in another life, perhaps."

* * *

Katara would afford him this. As the years pass and she gets to know Ezme better, from something of a distance, she realises that they are similar. They have a conversation after the wedding.

Katara is still unengaged and mourning the death of a bachelor in the gardens outside the ballroom when she was followed out by the bride. Her mostly white gown glows in the moonlight while Katara's midnight blue gown almost lets her sink into the shadows.

"Can we take a walk?"

"I can't very well say no to the new Fire Lady on the first day of her reign."

Ezme's eyes narrow slightly and she looks vaguely exasperated. "Do I really need the title for you to be able to respect me?"

"No, do I respect you! It's just… nothing… I just don't feel like walking." Katara can't look her in the eye. She toys with the grass with her foot.

"As my first act as Fire Lady, I demand you take a walk with me," she speaks with cool confidence rather than haughtiness and Katara doesn't argue. She curls her arm around Katara's and guides her into the garden to the same secluded section she and Zuko had hidden in all those years ago.

"I used to wonder why we were never friends." Katara goes to refute it but realises that she owes this woman more than lies. "I realised why about a year and a half ago. On Ember Island I saw the way you looked at him and he looked at you… I knew you loved each other." They're both quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

"No. You're not." Ezme is looking up at the moon, hard resolve to her features. "That's okay too. You know him. I know him; I can't blame you for loving him when I'm guilty of the same crime."  
"You could… I suppose I did…blame you - that is… I never tried to become friends with you."

Ezme looks bashful for a moment, "I'll be honest. I kind of hated you for a while."

Katara, despite herself, laughs "I can't say I'm surprised."

"That scar on his chest… For the longest time it made me feel sick. It was an ever-present reminder of the other woman he loved; that other woman that I could never quite compete with."  
Another wave of guilt washes over Katara.

"But I realised… that scar is a symbol of the kind of man he is. Good to a fault. I loved him too much to let him go. Is it selfish of me to stay with him, knowing that I wasn't his first choice or is it just pathetic?"

She looks at Katara, who thought the question was rhetorical until the silence stretches a little too long.

"You're not pathetic Ezme." She lets out a shuddering breath, "You're good for him." It feels like she's twisting the knife herself now but she knows it's true.

"Thank you. It means a lot that you see that too." The new Fire Lady plays with the fine stitching on her sleeve, "You toyed with his heart a lot, Katara." Another gut punch, "He deserves so much more than games."

"You're right."

The women stand in silence for a while. It begins strained but gradually becomes less tense. They watch the moon together and Katara silently thanks Yue for the strength not to cry. There is a particularly chilly breeze and Ezme shivers slightly.

"Let's head in, I've kept you from your husband too long."

The older woman smiles softly and Katara returns it with a warmth she is surprised by. They walk back inside in amicable silence. The moment they step inside Katara locks eyes with Zuko. His eyes quiver for a second before he looks at Ezme – in one piece and smiling coyly at him – and relaxes. Katara places a hand on her companion's arm as she starts to go to him.

"Hey, I'm glad he found you."

She smiles brilliantly, "I thank the spirits that he did."

Ezme walked away towards her husband and Katara feels overwhelmed with regrets and self-pity. But he looks so happy and she chose this for herself. She hopes he knows that this is what she wants for him and how she has always felt. She hopes he doesn't hate her – even though she knows he doesn't. She feels that she deserves hatred. Feeling a little weak she sinks into a nearby seat at an empty table. Her heart aches and she reminds herself that it's all for the best - _all for the good of the world_ \- and it'll get better with time.

She hopes that one day she won't desperately want to be in their - stupidly pointy, shoes.

* * *

 **A/N Hey and welcome to the Authors Note on another one of the bittersweet instalments of this very late Zutara Month 2015 anthology**

 **I was actually considering extending this one: I was possibly going to look at Katara when she helped with the birth of Izumi, maybe a bit of the awkward conversations between her and Zuko when they're both married etc. but I wasn't sure. Earlier than that idea was a flashforward essentially having a major tragedy strike (explaining the absence of a Mrs Zuko in Korra...) that was just going to be a painful guilt trip for my favourite Fire Lord... but I thought it was a little too mean (let me know if you want it though). This is the last instalment of this universe that I've planned for anyway (The Zuko-centric (Day 21's Unravel) and Aang-centric (Day 7's Regret) ones round it into a nice trilogy I think).**

 **I hope no one is too OOC and you have enjoyed this one. Thanks for reading xx**


	19. Day 20 - Honeymoon

**A/N I got a burst of inspiration yesterday because it was my parents' 30th wedding anniversary! So here is another addition to this collection that is still slowly but surely happening (like 3 years late). There is probably (hopefully) a shift in quality of these as they go on. I had little bits of this written but not much. Hope you like it! x**

* * *

Phase

The pride of the Fire Nation, the ancient crown passed down over generations, was unceremoniously skewed on the head of the regent. His top knot was looser than usual, appearing just significant enough to keep the gold headpiece on.

He had a smear of lipstick dragged across the skin just above the left side of his top lip. His naturally pink lips were slightly swollen and a darker hue than usual.

And if both those facts weren't enough to be suspicious, he was wearing the most dumbly pleased smiles his uncle had ever seen.

Zuko was never very good at hiding how he felt. He wore his heart on his sleeve. For some time it looked like this tender quality had been cruelly stripped of him by his father and sister and yet only a few years later, the young Fire Lord, swept into a new (and supposedly secret) romance was displaying his happiness and lying, poorly, about its inspiration.

Iroh watched as his nephew emerged from the shadows and slumped happily against the wall. It was a mingling portion of an official dinner and the Fire Lord had disappeared for a short interlude, excusing himself stating he had been drinking more water lately.

He had been drowning himself in the most refreshing glass of water.

(He said that to her once. She told him it was clunky but the sentiment was sweet and she rewarded his effort with a languid kiss and a squeeze of his ass).

Iroh had excused himself to the corridor outside the ballroom and caught Zuko's blissful smile.

"Nice trip to the water closet?" The old man inquired cheekily. Zuko blushed slightly, mumbling something under his breath about " _a closet next time"_.

* * *

She was pretending to sleep, lounging across his bed as he got up. The air has that warm thickness she was still getting used to.

Lightning gives her nightmares so the night before, during the thunderstorm, she'd snuck into his room and asked to sleep beside him. At first it had seemed like they'd do just that.

Just sleep.

She'd folded herself under his arm, protectively wrapping herself over the scar in the middle of his chest. But the night was hot and humid. Neither of them could sleep. So the young couple enjoyed a hot night of heavy petting and thunder drowning out the sound of moans.

Her thin nightgown was in disarray; her hair spilling out across his pillows and encircling her head like a halo.

When Zuko had woken up that morning he'd been the little spoon. She was pressed against his back like a human backpack. He detangled himself reluctantly after a while but not before gathering her small hands in his and pressing a kiss to them.

She watched the muscles in his back ripple as he gets up.

She wondered if there had ever been something as beautiful as Zuko in the warm first light of dawn.

He stretched and she couldn't help herself. She sighed.

"Katara? You awake?"

His voice was particularly raspy first thing in the morning. He looked over his shoulder at her and she noticed how awry his hair was and only barely managed to contain a giggle. She merely wriggles and pretends to be asleep. He smiles lazily at her before reaching out to brush some of her hair away from her face.

She hummed appreciatively and shuffled towards him.

He smirks before leaning down and kissing her temple.

"I know you're awake, Katara."

She flicked one eye open and pouts at him.

He laughed at her as he pushed himself off the bed.

She watched his back curve, humming softly in appreciation. As he stretched his arms she can't help but smirk and heckle.

"Quit flexing, you show off." She covered her mouth with the sheet but he can see the playful smile in her eyes. He looked at her over his shoulder, flashed a winning smile and flexed properly,

"Quit enjoying it then," then he unceremoniously threw the blankets off her and she squealed and threw his pillow at him.

That's how his guards find them; engaged in a savage duel of wills and pillows. They're both laughing and the men slowly return to their post – recalling that the young leader's uncle had briefed them all on the bond between all the war heroes,

" _They were children when they saved the world, in some ways they are still children. They are connected to each other in ways many would be unable to fathom. No only comrades in war but the human heart of the rebellion. Those remarkable individuals forged themselves into a family. So give them space and understand their relationships are different and special and should not be questioned… or discussed."_

* * *

The Fire Lord often trained alone in his private dojo. Usually he practiced his basics then would move up the forms to complex expert level katas. That was where she found him. She'd been spat at and vomited on in the hospital that day but she tried not to let it get her down. She'd dealt with worse. It was nothing that the nice long bath she'd just had couldn't fix (thank the spirits for the Fire Nation and their water heating).

Her hair was still ever so slightly damp as she wandered across the gardens to see him. It was a warm afternoon so she didn't bother bending it dry. She could feel the waves of heat undulating out of the vents in the dojo as she got closer. Leaning against the doorframe and playing aimlessly with the ends of her hair, she watched him and how he moved. His body was lithe, toned and strong. He'd broadened and bulked a lot since the war, the chef made meals were doing wonders in comparison to living like a refugee. As the muscles in his back and arm move she can't help but recognise that a few of his forms look an awful lot like hers. He moved his arms in long arches, shifting fluidly through positions.

She decided it would only make sense for her to show him how it's done.

It wasn't until a tendril of cool water wraps around his ankle that he knows she's there. Unfortunately he was too surprised to stop her from pulling him off balance and dragging him up slightly by one foot.

They sparred with the same amount of conviction as they did when they were enemies. They're almost more desperate to be victorious - his uncle warned him that a little competition was healthy in a relationship but one must also be proud of their partner's successes. They were both impossibly stubborn but they managed to keep the competitions healthy.

In the end he had her pinned against the wall of the dojo, smirking into her ear until he felt her cold ice dagger nip slightly at his bare abdomen.

"Draw?"

She let her head loll back onto his sweaty shoulder and smiled at him.

"Unless you want to go another round"

He pecked the cocky smirk off her lips and shifted away before she begun to fully utilise their proximity.

It was one thing to be caught in a compromising position, another to be caught in a compromising position with a hard on. She turned, resting against the wall of the dojo again. When she smiled at him it was tired but nonetheless radiant and infectious. The sun was starting to set, warm orangey-pink light washes over them, enhancing their shared blush of exertion.

"You are so beautiful."

"I'm so sweaty." She bent out her hair and teases fingers through her newly dried curls.

"That too."

She smiled brightly at him again, summoning a tiny water whip and hooking him around the wrist. She reeled him in and he forgot about the fact that they were both official, professional politicians. He forgot their relationship was a secret.

His sweaty forehead hit hers and her arms twinned around his neck. Her eyes said "I love you'. His hands said it back, his thumbs drawing lazy circles over her waist. Their lips touched tenderly, without rush.

He wondered how he ever imagined a future without her.

* * *

She was making sand spirits.

It involved flopping on your back and waving your arms about in the sand so you can get up and leave the shape of, what is in theory, a spirit. Apparently they'd do it in the snow of the poles all the time. He dreaded the thought of how much sand would be in her hair, between her toes, in the band of her bather bottoms and caked to her spine... but then she looked up at him over her shoulder and said " _join me"_ and he couldn't help but flop down beside her.

There was sand in his hair, between his toes, in the band of his bather bottoms and caked to his spine and still he can't help but feel wonderful. She hopped up first, offering him a hand to look at their handiwork.

"Is that what their meant to look like?"

"What? They're sand blob spirits"

"That's so not a thing Katara,"

"Who died and made you king of the spirit world?"

"Well my great grandfather WAS the Avatar…"

"And my best friend is the Avatar too, what's your point?"

He laughed. It was a hearty chuckle that she swore she could feel. He wrapped an arm around her, squishing her into his side.

"I like them," he said, voice barely above a whisper and she smiled like he gifted her all of the stars. Then he very intentionally shook his sandy hair in her face and ran off, laughing like it was the most clever prank anyone had ever played and she's chasing after him.

That night, when the sun was down and the tide was in, they sat just shy of where the water creeps to. They watched the bio-luminescent creatures dance under the surface, mesmerised. He buried his hands in the sand and she looked confused for a moment until he lifts out a transparent stone of some kind - _glass_.

"It's an otter penguin" he explains, passing it to her. Her fingers trace the lines, admiring the details. He told her he'd been practicing his artistic fire bending. The little figurine wasn't perfect, he'd rushed it a little, but she treasures it and wraps it in fabrics on their way home so it isn't broken. He presses a kiss to her hairline and smiles. There was still sand in his hair. There would be sand in his sheets by morning. He wouldn't have it any other way.

It had seemed like such a great idea at the time. But when they got there, the swamp didn't quite seem to be such a romantic destination. It had an odd smell to it and Zuko couldn't help but feel like he was never _quite_ dry.

It had been his Uncle's idea and after the insanity of their (second) wedding the idea of a quiet getaway, far from the prying eyes in the cities, sounded wonderful.

He'd also been swayed by the idea of his new wife dressed in just vine leaves.

He hadn't gotten to the part where that would be all he was wearing too.

She giggled at him as he messed with his leaf hat. The Swamp tribe had been wonderful about their desire to stay with them for a little while. They repeated over and over how the Banyan-Grove tree loved the union of souls.

The day they arrived they wandered around among the vines for a little while, linking pinkies because that particular day was ridiculously humid and misty.

He isn't quite sure when he lost track of her but he started hearing unfamiliar giggling and mumbles.

He turned to see a child playing with a toy dragon.

It was a little girl, no older than three. He could only see half of her face but her tan skin was the same shade as the woman who slept beside him and her fine black hair was styled into loopies. He stepped on a twig and the child starts, small face flicking to him.

It lights up with happiness and…

Her eyes are miss-matched… like his.

Just not in the same way his are.

One is gold. One is blue.

He goes to wrap her up in his arms, tears welling in his eyes, but the vision dissipates and he's left clutching to a boulder.

Katara found him like that and placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiles up at her with tears in his eyes and he can tell she understands what happened without saying a thing.

In the swamp they got the privacy they missed out on back at home. He just wished it was without all the bugs and mud. Katara was enjoying herself, waterskiing on the bayou and using the rainforest mud as some sort of face mask.

On their second night there she took him to watch the glowflies.

" _I was talking to Hue and she mentioned this beautiful, secluded marsh not too far away."_ The look she gave him was baffling, innocent on the surface but thrown off by the fire in her eyes.

She sat with her back flush to his torso and his arms wrapped around her. It was peaceful in a way he wasn't sure he's ever really known and he realised it may be the first time in his life that he had absolutely nothing to stress about.

The Fire Nation was in his uncle's capable hands and his _wife_ was in his arms, drawing lazy patterns in his forearm mimicking the movements of the bugs.

It also struck him that they were _alone_. Alone in a way they never, ever got to be. There were always a few staff around on Ember Island, **always** staff in the palace and everywhere in between was populated with so many people that aren't just the two of them. He pressed hot kisses down the column of her neck and relished in her sharp intake of breath. They make love over and over under the stars. He tried to memorise everything about the moment; The way her brown skin glowed under the light of the glowflies and the stars reflected in her eyes. The _noises_ she made with no chance of being heard by anyone but him.

By the end of their holiday he decided the swamp had been an insanely great idea.

* * *

He heard the tell-tale grumbling of an oncoming melt down from a room away. She'd only just settled down after getting up to feed twenty-five minutes earlier so it was only fair he handle it this time.

He walked into the nursery with a small flame in hand. The baby stirs a little and raises his small voice a little more for good measure. Zuko scooped him up, resting the little boy's head over his shoulder and supporting his bottom while he tapped him on the back.

When Katara woke up the next morning she wasn't surprised by her husband's absence. She was surprised however when she goes into Lu Ten's room and there he is. Sitting in her nursing chair, with a sleeping baby in his arms. The Fire Lord was only lightly dozing, eyelids fluttering with dreams. It felt like her heart had grown two sizes. She looked on as her two boys sleep, tears welling in her eyes. She toyed with the idea of kissing them both on the head but decided instead to let them rest a little longer, shutting the door silently behind her.

* * *

They were sitting on an ice bench in the Southern Water Tribe watching the sunrise. He had four scarves on but his nose was still red like rudolph the red-nosed reindeer-horse. Her head was resting in the crook of his shoulder and their hands were pressed against one another because their mittens made interlocking fingers impossible.

He shuffled a little to look at her.

"You're so beautiful"

"I'm so old"

"That too"

He smiled at her cheekily and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"The spirits work in such mysterious ways." he mused. His voice would take on an Iroh-esque quality when he thinks too much - she doesn't mention it. "To think, I married Katara of the Southern Watertribe. Waterbending master, war hero, revolutionary, activist and the most beautiful woman in all the four nations." She snorted at him but kissed his wrinkled cheek.

"You're such a sap Zuko. I'm not going to stroke your ego by reminding you how much of a catch you were."

"Were? As in past tense?" he raised his good eyebrow at her and she chuckled.

"I think we're both a little past our prime now." She laughed. She was about to be a great grandmother. They were both well past retired; their three children and eight grandchildren carrying on their legacy of peace, prosperity, love and progress. His eyes took on that far-off warm look they so often do when he's looking at her, like all the years they'd spent together were rolling through his mind.

"Really? I never even noticed." He wasn't even kidding.

She smiled at him, heart in her eyes. The golden glow crept over the expanse of ice. She still wondered if there had ever been something as beautiful as Zuko in the warm first light of dawn. She pressed the softest peck on his lips as the sun rose.

"Come on Sparky, let's make snow spirits."

They're both still fit and spritely for their age. She dragged him by the forearm to a nice soft spot of snow and just fell back onto the fresh powder. Had any one of their decendents seen them they may have kicked up a fuss - something about his back, something about her hip. But they were blissfully alone on the tundra that morning.

He looked over at her, as they both created shapes with the same dumbly pleased smile playing on his lips that he'd wear when he was a younger man.

 _All this time and I guess I never left the honeymoon phase._

* * *

 **A/N ANOTHER ONE DOWN! Shout out to anyone who's bothered to read this, it means a lot. If you've been keeping up with this series of mine you'll probably notice that each of these little sections should roughly fit into or fill in gaps between different periods in the 'and it felt like home' verse. I have this fic up as separate (but grouped) one-shots on ao3 (** **archiveofourown series/718548** **/ ) if you prefer that kind of set up and a little more chronology.**

 **If people are interested I'm thinking of doing a bonus scene of Katara's swamp vision.**

 **Really I should be writing my masters assignment but you can't ignore the call of inspiration! It comes so infrequently.**

 **Until next time x**


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